Megadimensional Shield Hero
by Phanzuru
Summary: From a random chance, Naofumi Iwatani had managed to find himself in a new place that was different from Melromarc. Coming from Melromarc, the place that only hated him because he was the weakest hero, the Shield Hero, it would be better if he was in this new place, right? He wasn't going to be hated because of being the Shield Hero because... this was a new world. Not Melromarc.
1. Chapter 1

"As a reward for his efforts during the Wave and for fulfilling my request, Motoyasu, the Spear Hero, will receive four-thousand silvers," The king of Melromarc, or in my opinion, the Trash King's servants gave the Spear Prick his payment for the Waves. "And for the young Heroes, Itsuki and Ren, they will receive three thousand-eight hundred silvers," His servants gave Itsuki and Ren them their bags that were filled with their payment. "And Shield… you will be receiving only five hundred silvers…"

As expected.

The Spear Prick, Ituski, and Ren are allowed to get the most because they stopped the Wave of Calamity. I couldn't tell if the boss was a problem, but there was always something that I did know: I SAVED their damn people in that village. Oh, but of course, they wouldn't decide to bring that up because it's always about the other Heroes. This shield was unnecessary to them. Yes, because the Legendary Shield was the weakest 'weapon', I was always looked down upon. Their disappointment led to betrayal. And betrayal led to my own disappointment and rage.

This was all because I was the Shield Hero, Naofumi Iwatani.

As I was about to grab the bag that anyone could easily tell was less than the others, the Trash King's servant stopped. "However… since we had to use the same amount to save his slave free from her curse, he will not be receiving his funds at this time." Yeah... 'slave', that's what you could call her…

...Because of me, the Shield Hero, was accused of raping a bitch, I had been betrayed by the very people who had summoned me here. "Protect our world, brave Heroes!" Yeah, they can go to hell for that. Manipulating me in the beginning so I could drop my guard while you could do whatever you want with my name? Yeah, get fucking lost. I won't fight for any of you assholes. I only fight the Waves of Calamity for my freedom to go back home.

As for my slave? Her name's Raphtalia. Since I'm the Shield Hero, the only one who can't fight without a proper weapon, I have to rely on my teammates for fighting while I'm there for defending and support. That was supposed to happen, but because I'm known as a criminal, I have no one to join my party. All I have was Raphtalia… a Demi-Human slave. I don't know how long she's been a slave, but when I first got her, she was sick. Who knew that this world supports slavery? Heh, another part of the list that makes this world shitty.

"Hey, I don't think that's fair to Naofumi, don't you think?" Hearing Itsuki, I looked at him with a confused expression. Why the hell was he trying to defend me? Wasn't he, along with Ren the ones who looked at me with disappointed looks with my false charges? What the hell is he planning, right now?

"First, it isn't exactly fair to not pay him because you dispelled the… ahem, slave crest. And second, you refuse to pay him for what he's done during the Wave of Calamity? And lastly, Motoyasu clearly cheated in that one-on-one match." The Trash King could only raise his eyebrow at him. Motoyaus was almost looking at the two with a shocked expression. What, don't tell me he thought I fell in front of him because I felt like it. Because of that bitch, I lost that fight because she casted a magic spell that pushed me towards him!

"He's right, you know. Motoyasu, Naofumi clearly won that duel, but you resorted to cheating… do you really think you deserve to win that match?" Ren said as he looked at Motoyasu.1

"What? I clearly won that duel fairly! I didn't see any chances of me losing!" Yeah, yeah, keep saying irrelevant things, Spear Prick.

"Sir Itsuki, Sir Ren, I believe that you're both wrong. The match was said to be a duel between the two, and the Shield Hero cheated by hiding monsters inside of his cape. Now, why would you think that the Shield Hero deserves to be the winner of that duel?" There she goes again to run that damn slutty mouth of hers. I don't care if she's a damn princess or not, she's not needed in this damn world! Who the hell would support that bitch on the throne?!

"That is true… however, could we even consider the monsters to be a threat to Motoyasu? They were clearly weak monsters, so Motoyasu shouldn't have had difficulty cutting them down. Instead, he chose not to. But even if he cheated or not like that, you cheated by casting a magic spell at him," And the words that everyone would refuse to hear has finally come to the light. Of course, I said this during my duel with Motoyasu, but no one chose to believe me because I was the Shield Hero. "As I said, Motoyasu wouldn't have any problems handling those monsters even if was considered cheating, but for you, you clearly gave Motoyasu the advantage." Itsuki finished by hardening his look at the bitch.

"Itsuki's right. Motoyasu, did you really think that Naofumi would just randomly fall down out of nowhere? Even you couldn't be that naive. Anyway, Naofumi did protect that village while we were out to fight the boss, so it would be best if you compensate him." Ren closed his eyes as he was disappointed at Motoyasu. Of course, he wanted to retort, but I don't think he can come up with anything. Everything was seen by the other Heroes, so what's not to believe anymore?

"...Fine, I'll give him the agreed amount," Snatching the bag away from his servant's hand, I looked at him with rage. "However, there will be nothing else being given. Do you hear me, Shield? No matter what you do, you will always remain unwelcomed here! Now, get out of my sight!" Gritting my teeth, I took a step forward. I've had enough of his damn mouth, already!

"So what, not going to hide the facts with your pathetic name? Because she's the princess and your the king, you think you can do whatever the hell you want with me?! Well, I'll tell you something you damn Trash King-" Before I could say anything, a hand was wrapped around mine. Looking at Raphtalia, she only smiled.

"Master Naofumi, don't you think we should be heading out now? We have what we wanted, right? That's great to hear, right?" Realizing what she was trying to do, I felt my lips curve upwards a bit. As much as I want to stay and give him a piece of my mind, I shouldn't. If Raphtalia wasn't here, would I still decide on doing so?

"...Yeah, let's go, Raphtalia. There's no point in wasting my time in this shitty place." Walking away, I could hear Raphtalia laugh a bit as she rushed to my side. Anyway, I had no reason to stay here because everything would just go out the other ear. Because I'm the Shield Hero, they wouldn't care about anything I say…

...I wish I wasn't summoned in this damn world…

* * *

"Are you sure you want another crest? You don't need to, you know." After acquiring the Slave User Shield, I asked if it was all right for her to put the crest back on. Well, it's a bit too late for me to say that since the creepy merchant already put on another crest.

"Yes, I'm sure. I just… wanted it to be a symbol of your faith in me, Master Naofumi." She smiled at me, reassuring me that she was fine with the slave crest being put back on her. I don't know why she would want to keep it on, but if she wants it, then she wants it.

"All right, suit yourself." As we waited for the slave merchant, I noticed that Raphtalia seemed to be acting a bit too nervous as she started to move uncomfortably. Now, why was she acting like this?

"...Hey, something wrong?" Asking her that had made her cheeks reddened a bit.

"W-well… I was just wondering if you could tell me how it looks…" What, the crest? Why would she want to know something so irrelevant as that? As I looked at the crest, I couldn't think of anything to say. What, did the slave merchant give her some type of special crest this time?

"...What's the difference? Is there something that I'm not seeing, Raphtalia? Was this crest something that boots your stats?" Rubbing my chin, I could only wonder what the difference was with the new crest. It looked the same as the one he first gave her, so what was the difference? Noticing that Raphtalia was pouting her cheeks a bit, I could only raise my eyebrow.

"Nevermind, Master Naofumi. Please forget that I said anything…" Was she angry at me? What for? I'm sure there was nothing different about the crest that was on her chest, so why was she angry? As the slave merchant came back from whatever he was doing, he walked towards Raphtalia to get a closer inspection on her.

"Well, well, my boy, I'm amazed that you've helped this scrawny bag of bones grow so much in a short span of time! You could get twenty gold pieces if she was a virgin!" Twenty gold pieces, huh?

"But I am a virgin!" Raphtalia retorted.

"Then thirty-five gold pieces!"

"Wow, thirty-five gold pieces, huh?" I intended on saying that as a joke.

"Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia stood up from her seat and looked at me with an angry-looking face. Hmm, maybe I should joke around with that kind of stuff about Raphtalia, then? As I looked over to the left, I noticed that there was a bunch of eggs inside an opened case. Not only that, but they have some sort of weird-looking crest on the front of them.

"What's that?" I pointed at the case for him to know what I was talking about.

"That's a monster egg lottery, my boy. For one hundred silvers, you're guaranteed at least a Filolial." That word seemed a bit alien to me. Filolial. Something that I've never heard before, is part of a lottery.

"...A Filolial?"

"I'm sure we've been seeing them around, right, Master Naofumi? They're those gigantic birds that pull carriages around town." Remembering back to the instances where I walked around the town, I do remember those gigantic birds pulling those carriages. So, those things were Filolial? Hmm, if I ever get a carriage, then getting a Filolial would be very useful since they'll be able to push them around.

"And better yet, if you hit the jackpot, then you'll win a dragon!" I don't know why he seems so happy when he said that, but when he did, it reminds me of those greedy gacha game companies. Oh boy, even this world has things that are similar to gacha games…

"Is that like a gacha game?"

"What's a gacha game?" Raphtalia tilted her head as she asked that. I'm sure she won't be able to get to play them, but it's better that she doesn't know about them. One gacha game I remember well is this popular game called... F/GU or something like that. I was interested in it for a bit, only to figure out that it was a waste of my time.

"Nevermind, don't worry about it. Slave merchant, I'll be getting one of those eggs." I'm sure that with the cost of the slave crest, it'll be a lot to pay for…

"Splendid! However… there's something I will like to ask of you." As he walked out of the room to get a book, he gave it to me. Looking at it, I don't think this was like any normal book. First, there was a purple gem in the middle and there was some wing-like design around the purple gem.

"So… what do you want me to do with this?" I asked as it was the obvious question. For what reason, did he have to give me this book?

"This is a book that's been given to me by an associate of mine, but I haven't been able to open this book for whatever reason. I could easily sell this to someone who's interested, but since you're here, I'm sure you'll be happy to take this off my hands, will you not? It might contain some valuable information if you open it, so why not try and figure a way to open it?" Whatever book this was, it felt… off. I don't know why, but it just felt off to me. Was this some kind of magic book? It didn't feel normal. Maybe… I should take it, then?

"How much?"

* * *

A few days had passed since taking the Filolial egg and the strange book the slave merchant offered me. I hadn't touched the book at all because I can't really understand what that feeling was. It was a book that couldn't be opened by the slave merchant, so it must be something out of the ordinary, right? Maybe I should just try to open it and read it. The sooner I figure out what this kind of book is, then the better. We had some time to look at it since we're in Lute Village where it's safe to just relax, but how long will that last?

"Master Naofumi, don't you think Filo is growing up… a bit too quickly? And aren't you going to name her with a… different name?"

"Gwah!" Looking up at Filo, yes, looking UP at Filo, it did seem strange that she was growing this much. A few days ago, she was just born and now, all of a sudden, she's grown into a normal-sized Filolial. It might be because she's a part of my party? The growth boost skill must've been a part of her random changes. Even then, I found it strange that Filo was in the party as she was a Filolial, but I guess it just makes sense.

"...Well, I'm not complaining. She'll be very helpful if we have some stuff to carry, so why not just go with it? And what's wrong with Filo? She likes it." Petting Filo, she "gwah!" again. That might be some Filolial language, but I guess that means she's happy.

"...Is that so? Anyway, Master Naofumi... are you going to open the book that you bought? Even though you bought it, I don't think you should just spend your money like that. Especially spending on stuff that shady merchant."

"When is the world never shady, Raphtalia? Now that you mentioned it, I was just thinking about opening it. But… don't you find it strange? The slave merchant said he couldn't open it, so what might make us any different?" I didn't want to explain the part where I felt something off about the book to Raphtalia because I didn't want her to be too concerned about me. It's not like the book was some sort of evil thing, so what's to worry about?

"...If you say so, Master Naofumi. You still have it on you, right?" Taking the book out of the pouch I had, I held it out in front of her. Luckily, the slave merchant had the thought of giving us a pouch just in case we decide on taking it with us.

"That purple gem in the middle looks weird, doesn't it?" Taking a closer look at the book, Raphtalia touched the gem. As it was a design for the book, nothing happened when she touched it. It was probably some old book about the past of this shitty world, so what really was the point of buying this?

"The Spear Hero!"

"And the knights as well?!"

"What's going on here?"

Hearing some commotion outside, I decided to take a look and see what was going on. From where we were, we could see… oh god, the Spear Prick and the bitch again. When will I ever catch a break from these assholes? And what are they even here for? Knowing them, they'll probably just start some stupid crap that'll make the people hate them. Let's just stay hidden for now...

"Master Naofumi, don't you think we should check out what's going on?" Raphtalia suggested that we go there and see what was going on, but I don't feel like I need to. I REALLY don't feel like dealing with their shit.

"Nah, let's just read the book. I don't feel like wasting my time dealing with those idiots." I automatically rejected.

"What? Master Naofumi, what if it was something that could be bad for the people here? Don't you think we should at least see what's going on before deciding on not dealing with them?" Raphtalia put her hands on her waist as if she was disappointed.

"Why, though? Whatever's going to happen there is going to happen, no matter if I'm there or not." Raphtalia pouted her cheeks a bit before smiling a bit as if she had some sort of idea.

"But… wouldn't it be nice to get a reward from them after helping them out? I'm sure those two are planning something wrong for the village, but if you happen to help them…"

...

"...All right, let's go." Raphtalia only smiled. I'm not doing this for the people, I'm only doing this for the reward. No matter what it is, it has to be valuable to them. And if it's valuable, then it could be worth a lot. As we walked towards them, I decided to look down at the book again. Okay, but before I decide on seeing what they're doing, I should probably try to open this book. If I'm able to open it, then I'd like to see what's inside for a bit. As I tried to open the book…

It opened…

To reveal nothing on the pages...

"Huh? I didn't expect the book to open so easily. The slave merchant wasn't able to open it, but I was? Something tells me that he lied to me, damn it! And besides, it's nothing but an empty book. Raphtalia, we should just get rid of it." Because it was useless, I threw it away. Based on the price of it, which was thirty silver, it wasn't supposed to be worth anything at all! I just got tricked, damn it! Damn that creepy slave merchant!

"Master Naofumi!" Hearing the urgency in Raphtalia's voice, I looked to see what was wrong, only to see that Raphtalia and Filo were standing in front of a man. Why did everything go quiet? Was the bitch finally done with her speech?

"What's wrong, Raphtalia?" Walking towards Raphtalia and Filo, Raphtalia could only point at the man's face. I was behind the man, so I couldn't tell what was wrong with him, so I guess I should just see then. Wait… why wasn't the man reacting to Raphtalia and Filo being in front of his face? Walking in front of him...

Frozen. Standing in front of the man, I could see that his face was frozen. He didn't blink, he didn't breathe… he was just frozen. What the hell is going on?

"Master Naofumi, not only this man, but everyone and everything was frozen, too!" Looking around, I could see leaves that had been falling off a tree had been frozen as well. Not only that, but the bitch was frozen as well. If I punched her, then would she feel it? No, not the time right now.

"Raphtalia, I don't know what's going on, but I think it's the book! I just opened it and-" Before I could say anything else, I could see the wind blowing towards the opposite direction of me. For each second, the wind was getting stronger and stronger. As it grew stronger, objects started to fly in that direction, while the frozen people weren't. Because of how strong it was, I started to feel myself slipping towards that direction. It was as if…

...Something was sucking me in! Turning around, I could see… wait is that some sort of vertex? It was blue and... did that just come from the area that I threw the book at? Shit!

"Raphtalia! Filo!" Looking back at Raphtalia, she was trying to hold onto a fence that was near her, while Filo had her mouth on the fence as well. Damn it, I don't have anything that can stop myself from getting sucked into that vertex! What the hell was going on!

"Master Naofumi!" As I didn't have the chance to grab onto anything, I was getting closer and closer to the vertex.

"Damn it, don't worry about me! Just hang on and don't let go!" I didn't know what was beyond this vertex. It could be death… or something worse. Damn, I'm getting close to the vertex! If it's just me getting sucked in, then Raphtalia and Filo would be safe... but… will the vertex still close even if I'm sucked in?

"Master Naofumi!" As my body was starting to get sucked inside, I couldn't feel it anymore. Everything just felt numb in my body as it continued to go deeper and deeper into the vertex. However… with my head still out of the vertex, I could see… Raphtalia and Filo letting go? I… can't… my head is starting to get sucked in as well… this… was it.

* * *

However… it wasn't it. Whatever happened to me, I found myself… on a building of some sort. With this flooring, there's no way this wasn't a building. Looking up, I could see… wait, is that the Waves of Calamity?! What the hell?! Did I just get sucked into a portal where I'm in the Waves of Calamity without warning?! Wait… isn't the sky supposed to be red, though? Looking up towards the sky, I could tell that this Wave was different than the others. One: the sky was purple, and two: there's that blue vertex that sucked me here moments ago. Based on how far I'm away from the vertex, did I just land here?

"Master… Naofumi?" Hearing Raphtalia's voice, I looked to my side to see Raphtalia laying under Filo's wings. Did… Filo protect her as they got here? No, how did they even get here?! Wait, I remember seeing them let go of the fence, so that's probably how they got here with me.

"Raphtalia! Filo! Are you two all right?!" As Filo moved over so I could see Raphtalia, I didn't see anything on Raphtalia's body. That's… that's good. Looking over to Filo, I didn't see anything on her that would show if she's hurt. Good… this is good, for now.

"Master… Naofumi? Master Naofumi! Are you all right?!" After sitting up straight, Raphtalia grabbed my shoulders to see if I'm all right. Shaking me a bit, I didn't think Raphtalia had this kind of strength within her…

"Y-yeah, I'm fine, Raphtalia! You don't have to keep shaking me!" Yelling that had caused her to let go of my shoulders. After letting go, she smiled.

"That's… good! I… thought I was going to lose you, Master Naofumi, so I… I let go." As her ears drooped to tell that she was sad; I only laid my hand on her head. This was… strange to me. I don't know where we're at, but I can tell that this isn't good.

"...It's fine. But don't get any ideas after doing this, all right? If it's just my life being taken away, then you should make yours a priority. Understand?" Raphtalia looked like she wanted to say something, but she chose not to. She only nodded her head as she looked to the floor.

"...Yes, I understand." Why does she have to look so sad while saying that? Does she not care about her life at all?! She shouldn't be risking her life like that for me in the first place! What if this didn't lead to another place?! What if this was only death?! Would she even consider doing that if she knew it?!

"Gwah!" Hearing Filo, I turned to see her just looking down from the railing. Wait, now that I see it, there's a skyscraper-like building where the vertex is…

…And Melromarc doesn't have skyscraper-like buildings. If this was a Wave, then we should've been summoned somewhere around Melromarc. But even then, there's nothing but the forest and plain land around there, so how the hell is there a skyscraper here? Even if they randomly have skyscrapers, it wouldn't be as modern as the one I'm looking at!

"Master Naofumi… where are we?" As we both went to the railing, I could see different types of buildings surrounding us, but unlike this one, they were torn down to the ground. I'm able to see some roads from here, but some of it had been blocked off. This… this was a city!

There's no way… there's no way this could've happened!

"Master Naofumi… what is that?" As Raphtalia pointed to something behind us, I turned around and all I could see… wait, what the hell was that thing?! That's… that's not something we would see in the Wave of Calamity!

"I… I don't know, Raphtalia. But… I know one thing is for sure, Raphtalia…" It was a titan. Yeah, a titan that was covered in purple and black as it was destroying parts of the city we weren't currently at.

"...This isn't Melromarc."


	2. Chapter 2

_Naofumi Iwatani: Shield Hero _ _Location:?_

_Level: 1 _

Back to level one, huh? I guess I shouldn't be surprised because this is a new world, after all. However, I need to know how the hell I was able to get here. Yeah, it was because of that book, but _what _exactly caused the book to act like that? It couldn't be because I opened it, surely. Nonetheless, I don't think it matters anymore. I'm going to have to find out what this place is.

"Master Naofumi, is there anything popping up in your menu?" After finding ourselves on that building, the first step was to get off and out of that building. That building looked like it was going to collapse at any minute if we chose to linger around. While the building was terrible, so was the streets. Filled with debris everywhere, the roads didn't look any safer than the buildings. It's better than standing on top of a collapsing building anyway…

"...No. Whatever this place is, it doesn't look like to have any connections with Melromarc. No, not just Melromarc, but from the world I was summoned to entirely. If you look at our levels, we are completely back to level one. That only shows that we're entirely in a whole new world…" I don't know how I should exactly feel about this. It should feel fantastic that I'm away from that god awful world, but if I'm in a place that looks dreary like this… then this could only cause trouble. This world is almost completely destroyed by the looks of it; whatever had happened here… involves that titan from earlier.

"You're… right? But… how did we get here? This isn't like a summoning to a Wave of Calamity, right?"

"I had the same exact thoughts, Raphtalia. Whether we choose to believe it or not, this is a different world." Walking down a cracked and narrow road, it didn't look like anyone was around. Not a single soul had been seen ever since we came here. Even when leaving that almost collapsing building, there wasn't a single person seen around here. If there's a-

"...That titan…" If it was possible that Raphtalia could mind read, then I'll give her props for bringing up a topic I was about to think about. "It… that's not something we've seen before, right, Master Naofumi? Especially… with something of that size, it… surely won't be possible to defeat that titan, right?" Raphtalia seemed to be a bit shaken after witnessing that titan tear everything apart in what seemed to be the nearest cities.

"...I would be lying to you if I said that I wasn't worried about it, Raphtalia. That… titan… especially with that size, it could be impossible. The best approach would be to avoid it as much as we can." Nervous? Yes. Scared? Beyond. Not as much as my own safety, but for Raphtalia's and Filo's. The only thing we can do is to level up and upgrade the Legendary Shield. I wonder… how different will this world compare to that messed up one? If I should sum this place up already… it's chaotic.

"Master Naofumi!" Looking over to Raphtalia, I could see her and Filo looking at some… strange little-green pixelated thing. Was that… an enemy? "It's… kind of cute if you look at it a bit close…" She… found that thing cute? Well, since she hasn't seen any pixelated objects before, I shouldn't be shocked by her reactions.

"What the hell is that thing, anyway? Some kind of weak monster or something?" Taking a closer look at it, suddenly, an exclamation point suddenly appeared on the top of the pixelated creature and it started to rush towards me. It had legs, but why wasn't it moving them?! It's just sliding across the floor! Whatever it's trying to do, I'm not allowing it!

"Stupid damn-wait, huh?" When I kicked the creature, it didn't do anything.

_Symbol Attack_

Eh? What the hell is that even supposed to mean?! And why the hell is there two more of these damn things?! Wasn't there one sitting there before?! "Raphtalia, get ready to fight! Filo, if in some way you can understand me, stay out of this fight!" As useful as a Filolial is, I've never seen one fight before. Could they even fight?

"Right! Allow me to-huh?" After taking a few steps closer to me, she suddenly stopped. With her sword in hand, she looked back at me confusingly. "Master Naofumi, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" I could only raise an eyebrow as I was confused as to what she meant.

"What?" I asked, clearly not understanding what she was trying to tell me.

"It's… just that… they haven't moved from their spots, Master Naofumi. Not only that, but I can't move my body anymore…" Looking at the pixelated creatures, indeed, they hadn't moved from the spot I've first seen them at. Weird, but okay. Now, as to why Raphtalia couldn't move anymore…

Looking down to the floor, I could see a blue circle surrounding Raphtalia's feet. It was small, and it didn't look like it was anything special to begin with. Was that always there? Most importantly, is that hindering her ability to even walk? Looking at my feet, I didn't see the small circle surrounding me whatsoever. However, when I looked at the back of those creatures… I could see lining that was almost forming a circle. Following that line, I could see a circle surrounding the entire area around us. This was… my circle? I'm not following.

"I'm… a bit confused, right now. Okay, why can't you move, Raphtalia? Is there some kind of thing you're not seeing?" As I asked that, Raphtalia put her index finger to her lips as she began to analyze everything in front of her.

"Ah! Master Naofumi, I see something in the corner of my right eye! It's… like some kind of footstep meter…" Raphtalia tilted her head a bit as she didn't really understand what she was looking at. Looking in the corner of my right eye, I could see the meter that she was talking about. It was filled… so there's a limit as to how far I can go? I'm in a new world, and already I'm not starting to understand these mechanics. It's a bit similar to the previous world, but this might have some complex mechanics I have to follow…

Let's test something out.

Taking a few steps, the substance in the meter started to flow downwards. So… there's a limit as to how far I could walk in this… encounter. I would call it a battle, but because the creatures aren't moving, I can't really call it that. Now, for what reason are they not able to move?

"Master Naofumi."

"Yeah?" I looked back at Raphtalia, who was starting to sweat a bit nervously.

"I… I believe that it's your turn, Master Naofumi…" Raphtalia smiled a bit nervously as she told me that.

"Eh?" That was all I could say before a menu popped up in front of my face…

_Command _

_Defend_

_Attack _

...What kind of world have we been dropped into?

* * *

Okay, I've only been in this world for about… an hour or two and I'm not understanding these weird concepts! Okay, to recap everything, for about an hour, Raphtalia, Filo, and I was able to get to level four. The only thing we've been doing so far is fighting these weird-looking monsters called Pixelvaders. Weird name, but I'm not the one who's naming them. For every Pixelvader we encountered, they were always level four. They weren't hard to kill, as Raphtalia only needed to slash at them once with her sword. It was three times when she was level one. They didn't do that much damage, so I wouldn't call them a problem.

"Master Naofumi, don't you find this… method of fighting odd? It's definitely not something I'm going to get used to…" Walking down the road again, I could only agree with her by nodding. If anything, we were stuck in turn-based fighting mechanics. After Raphtalia's done attacking the enemy, it was going to be my turn. And that repeats until the enemy is dead. However… since I'm the Shield Hero, I can't really have any methods of attacking my enemy…

"Seriously… is there ever going to be a world where I'm not going to be looked down on because I'm the Shield Hero?" Pinching the bridge of my nose, I could only be angry at how this world's mechanics work. Raphtalia could only smile sadly as she looks at my misery.

"Well… I don't know if this sort of… thing is suited for the Legendary Shield as a weapon, Master Naofumi. You might've not been able to attack, but you were still able to do commands! That's… good, right, Master Naofumi?" I can approve of her attempts of cheering me up, but the only thing that's stopping me from doing so…

"...Raphtalia, the only way I can attack is _only _with my commands. The commands are only used if you have SP, Raphtalia. I can transform the shield, but for everything that was based around it being useful in the previous world, is only there for debuffs and support. It hurts them a bit, but it's not what I expected. As an example, when biting with the Shield of the Two-Headed Black Dog it causes some sort of agro for the enemies to be focused on me. I'm kind of happy that I'm finally doing some damage to enemies, but the damage wouldn't suffice that much with me. With the Air Strike Shield, I could use the Rope ability and wrap our enemies around them, which causes the Binding effect, which causes the enemies to be stuck where they're standing for one whole turn. I'd call it overpowered if it did it ALL the time…"

"Please don't be sad, Master Naofumi. If… since this a new world, you'll never know what kind of shields you'll be able to get! Being able to fight like you always wanted is good, as well! Not only that, but no one would be here to judge you over your shield, Master Naofumi. I… don't know if we'll ever meet people here, but if we do, I believe that they wouldn't judge you like the people of Melromarc." She's… probably right. This… was a new world, so I have to enjoy the time I have here. It didn't matter if people were here or not, as long as I don't have to deal with those idiots anymore, then everything is fine…

"How many times do I have to nepping tell you?! We're not the bad guys!" Hearing a feminine voice in front of us, I could only slap my forehead with my hand. Nevermind, I don't think everything is going to be fine…

"N-no, I believe you, it's just that… it's kind of hard to remember the last time I've seen people here…" Raphtalia's ears perked up when she heard another woman that had a tomboyish-like voice.

"That's… people, Master Naofumi! I'd never thought we'll be able to meet people in this place! Let's hurry and-Master Naofumi?" I could only clench my fist as I was unsure of what to do. This… this was a new world, right? I… don't have to worry about anyone judging me of this shield, right…?

No… it shouldn't matter what people think of me. As long as I do what I can do with this Shield, then I'll be able to ignore everyone's judging eyes…

...Then why was it that I was walking away? Away from what must be the only people in this world? Was I… afraid?

"Master Naofumi?" I started to walk away from the girls that I heard, causing Raphtalia to respond by calling my name. "Master Naofumi… is something the matter? There's… people there and we could speak to them! We could even figure out where we are!" Even though I heard her, I couldn't stop walking. Out of anyone… why the hell does it have to be women?! It was until I felt Raphtalia's hand grab mine, that I finally stopped.

"...Let's not, Raphtalia. We could always look anywhere else but here…" I felt Raphtalia's hand over mine start to get tighter.

"...Master Naofumi, there's no need to be afraid. Compared to the other world, we might not know if people are worth trusting here. Unless we try to at least talk to them, then we'll never know if they're worth trusting or not. These are the only people that we've seen, Master Naofumi. We… shouldn't waste this opportunity… right?" Raphtalia had a way of getting to me for whatever reason. After… after what she said to me after the fight with the Spear Prick, I… I've been listening to Raphtalia's words a bit more often.

"Whatever… let's just… fine, Raphtalia. If I don't trust them… then we're leaving them." Was it even worth the risk of meeting them? What if… what if I end up trusting them? What if… they end up leaving me like-no, why the hell was I even thinking about that bitch?!

"Ah! Is that a giant bird!" Another unrecognizable female exclaimed shockingly. Filo… of all things, why the hell did you try and go out on your own?!

"Master Naofumi… let's hurry and meet up with them…" Feeling Raphtalia begin to tug on my hand, we started to walk towards the group of females we heard earlier. As we walked closer to them, I could see that two of them had… light purple hair? In front of them was a red-haired girl who had her hair in a fashion like pigtails. And… there's Filo there, too…

"I've never seen a monster like THAT before! Hey, Nep Jr, what do you-wait, hold that thought! People are walking right towards us! Hello, fellow people!" The short purple-haired girl started to wave our hands towards us. Upon hearing her, my eyebrow instinctively twitched. Something tells me that she's going to be annoying.

"Huh? More people? I didn't think that there was going to be any other survivors out here!" "Survivors"? She means that… these are the only other people that exist in this world? I didn't think that the _entire _world to be destroyed. Not only this city… but cities across the world might be suffering like here…

"H-hello! If you don't mind, could you please leave our Filo- I mean our bird alone? She's with us and she tends to wander off by herself at times. I'm Raphtalia, that's Filo, and this is…" Since this is a new world, I wouldn't know if slavery was even allowed here. For Raphtalia to just call me "Master Naofumi", it would cause some problems…

"It's Naofumi Iwatani… it's… yeah, just call me Naofumi…" After introducing ourselves, the three girls looked us at with amazed looks. Not as much as the red-haired girl, as she looked like this was the first time seeing-oh wait, it might be…

"O-oh, my apologies! My name is Nepgear and this is my older sister Neptune! This right here is… Uzume, right?" The red-haired girl named Uzume only nodded her head as her only response. "You said this bird's name was Filo, right? I didn't think there existed a monster that was able to be this friendly." Filo could only chirp with her usual "gwah!" to that. Wait, the long purple-haired girl is Nep...gear, and she said that… the little girl was her older sister?! Okay, am I crazy or something? I've never seen someone so little be an older sibling to someone in Japan before...

"A man, huh? You're not… evil or something like that, right? By the looks of your glare, you look like a bad guy." Looking at the little girl named Neptune, I could harden my glare at her. Because of my lack of trust in women, this was the only defensive option I could do in order to-

"Please don't mind him! He's… we've been through a lot before coming here. We've been… sucked into this portal-like vertex and we found ourselves here. You could say that… we're new to this place?" Nepgear could only widen her eyes.

"You've been sucked in by a vertex, too?! Did you find a similar game console like us? It was white and it had an orange spiral-like design in the middle!" Raphtalia could only tilt her head confusingly. Wait, what did she mean by "too"? She got sucked into a similar vertex, as well?

"What's a game console?" Hearing that had caused Nepgear and Neptune to fall down to the ground dramatically. Oh yeah, the lack of knowledge Raphtalia has when it comes to technology is something, isn't it? Nevermind that, but they came from a world that has technology? Could it be… that they're from Japan? No, with those outfits, they didn't look like they came from Japan. Neptune, who was only wearing a white hoodie with purple linings on it, wasn't wearing anything else to cover her lower body. I'm sure that no one in Japan would wear something unsafe as that. Attempting to get up, the first one to try to get up by touching onto Raphtalia's skirt was Neptune…

"Y-you… you mean you don't know what a game console is?! Where… where did you come from that made you unaware of the beauty of gaming?! Where woman?! Where did you come from?!" Seeing how dramatic this was starting to play out, I grabbed Neptune's hand and forced it off of Raphtalia.

"Look, we don't have time to mess around here. It's either you tell us what's going on here, or we'll be on our way." I don't know, they seem like nice people, but I'm not risking anything anymore. I've trusted that bitch because she seemed nice, but she had her reasons to be acting nice to me… and that was to drop my guard…

"Hey, buddy, I don't know what your problem is, but it's not nice to treat a girl like that! Especially one that's smaller than you! Don't you think you're being rude!" Uzume, the one who was wearing the most revealing out of the girls, walked up to me with a glare focused solely on me.

"Well, your friend shouldn't have touched my partner like that. I do what I must in order to protect my partners… now, what are _you _going to do about it?" Getting in her face, I wasn't going to back down from this.

"I outta smash your face in with my fist if you want to continue being rude. I don't know where you came from, but around here, even if there haven't been any people around, I have a rule to respect others, no matter how they look. I haven't met any people in a long time, but you're going to be the first person I want to punch because of the way you act…" Before I could respond, Raphtalia stood in front of me. It wasn't just her who responded, but Nepgear walked in front of Uzume…

"We shouldn't be fighting at a time like this! Neptune, you, and I are confused as to where we're at! We shouldn't be starting random fights when all we need to do is work together!" Nepgear yelled out, as she didn't want a fight to break out.

"Yeah, Ma-I mean… Naofumi, you shouldn't be acting rude to these people that we just met. They could be the only ones who know what's going on here and we don't want to ruin our chances for answers because of a fight!" My eyes widened a bit as she looked a bit angry at me.

"Tch, fine." Scratching my head, I turned away from the group. Filo, who was standing next to me, licked my face as she had a face of concern. Somehow, no matter how big she was, she always seemed to know if I was troubled or not. Now that I think about it, if we're back to level one, shouldn't these two be to the way they were? Like, Raphtalia being a child, and Filo in the form of a little chick? I mean, because of that growth ability while leveling up, Raphtalia and Filo had been able to change into these grown versions of themselves. Or… does it not count in this world?

"Fine, but if he tries to do something like that again, then I won't hesitate to make him understand what I'm saying… even if it involves punching him in the face." I paid no mind to her threats. I only petted Filo to soothe my mind. "Wait… it's here, again…" Looking back at her, I could only think of only one thing that she could be talking about: the titan.

Then… the ground started to rumble without having the intention of stopping…

It was until the titan had revealed itself from flying in a purple ball and landing near a bunch of ruined buildings. It was close to us, but all of us were able to see the thing in all its glory…

"W-what is that thing?! I've never seen anything so huge before?! Is that the final boss of the game, already?! We didn't accidentally get blasted to the end of the game, right?!" "End of the game", huh? Great, another person who thinks life is just a game. And here I thought the other idiotic Heroes were the only ones who thought life was just a game…

"I don't know… but that's the thing that's caused all of this destruction. I'm… I'm going to be the one who puts an end to all of this. I'm… going to take that thing down!" She's crazy, right? With the size of that thing, how the hell is she going to fight that thing? Especially by herself? That's only a suicide mission.

"Uzume, you can't be serious, right now! You're going to try and fight that?!" Nepgear seemed to be astonished by the size of the titan as well.

"What? I've been fighting what that thing for as long as I can remember. For each and every fight, I haven't been able to take it down. But… but I'm stronger! I'm sure with the strength that I have right now, that I'm capable enough to fight it!"

"Uzume… I appreciate your drive to want to fight that… thing, but you shouldn't do that on your own. We can only get away as far as we can so we don't get attacked by that thing." Raphtalia said as she wanted to convince Uzume to not go ahead and risk her life. If anything, if she wants to, then she can go ahead and do whatever she wants. I won't stop her.

"Yeah… you're right. You all should get out of here as far as you can. This entire place is going to be a battlefield, so I can't risk you all getting hurt. As a CPU, I won't allow innocent civilians to fight battles that aren't for them, so… get out of here." Huh? What the hell was a 'CPU'?

"Wait, did you just say that you're a CPU?! And… this place is a nation?!" Nepgear and Neptune seemed to know what that word was based on their shocked faces, but me and Raphtalia could only stare at each other with confused faces.

"Yeah… sorry I didn't say anything about that. But it doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that you all get out of here."

"Nope!" Hearing her, Uzume turned to Neptune with a confused face.

"Huh? Whaddya' mean "nope"? I told you to get the hell out of here! Do you wanna die?!" Judging by her expression, I could understand that she didn't want us to fight that thing. No matter how reluctant Neptune was, it didn't look like Uzume wanted us to fight the titan.

"I mean what I mean, sister! If you're going to fight that thing, then I'll help ya! I'm not going to allow you to fight that thing all by yourself! Besides, I'm the protag, I won't be dying anytime soon! I'll do what I want, and I want to help!" Okay, everything that Neptune says is just going to be involving herself being in a video game. She's… an idiot if she continues to think life is all but a game.

"Uzume, we should just retreat for now! We can't just go battling that thing head-on without a plan so-"

"Sorry, no can do. If I allow that giant to keep doing whatever it wants, then monsters are going to advance with its every move. If I can't protect the others… then what good am I? If I can't continue my duty being a CPU, then everyone who relied on me, in the beginning, would just be displeased in me. I can't afford to let them down!" Whatever this CPU thing was, it probably means a lot to her. By the sound of it… it sounds like she's some sort of Hero who has a duty to complete. I don't know what kind of Hero, but it sounds like a duty that's important.

"Well, with courage like that, there's no way anyone's going to stop me from helping ya! Uzume, let's get ready to fight that thing unstrategically!" She even admitted that she had no plans to fight that thing! Is she an idiot?!

"No! Even if I won't make it out, I at least have to buy some time for the others!"

"Then we'll help you buy some time then! I'm going to leave you out here to fight that thing alone, Uzume. If there's anything I learned from previous instances like this, it's that I don't listen to what people tell me to do!" Idiot… even if she was too weak to fight that thing, she would still choose to fight? No… or was that I'm the idiot? Uzume wants to fight for the sake of protecting the people here, so she's willing to give her life up to buy them time to run away…

...How different is that compared to a Hero?

"...Neptune…" Nepgear seemed unsure why her… older sister wanted to go out and fight something so huge. By clenching her fist to her chest, she grew determination. "Then… I'll help, too!" These three… they insanely dumb idiots for trying to fight something huge before them…

"Ugh! What… whatever!" Suddenly, Uzume was on her knee. I didn't care to notice this at first, but she has some wounds that need to be fixed if she wants to fight that thing.

"Wait, you're wounded, Uzume! We have to get you to safety so Mas-I mean, Naofumi can make you a healing potion!" Immediately responding, Raphtalia was already at Uzume's side. Even if this was the first time we met them, she still cares about their safety…

"What? He… can make healing potions?" As she looked at me, I only nodded my head. "Tch, as much as I don't want to waste any more time sitting around and not doing anything… fine. I have a base nearby, so we can head there." Uzume tried to get up, but she was back to her knee again. If she can't stand up anymore, then it has to be serious…

"Filo, pick up Uzume and follow her direction, you hear me?" As Filo usually chirped, she started to head towards Uzume, who only looked at me with a shocked expression.

"You're… going to help me?" I only turned around so I didn't look at her.

"...You said that there are others that need help, right? We shouldn't be wasting our time. Let's hurry up and recover so we can save them…" I spared no time to look at her face. I had no time to hear any gratitude. I only have to do what I have to do because… I'm the Shield Hero.

"...Thanks." Looking back, I can see Uzume beginning to climb onto Filo with the help of Nepgear and Neptune. Raphtalia only walked towards me with a smile.

"What do you think, Master Naofumi? Do you… think you can trust them?" I could only look at Raphtalia with a curve of lips starting to move upwards a bit.

"...They might not be Heroes, but at least… they have a brain. Instead of focusing on the titan, they chose to help the civilians who are in need. They're much better than the other Heroes. Besides… I'm the Shield Hero, after all. I need to do what I must in order to help those in need, right? You're coming with me, right?" Raphtalia's eyes widened a bit before smiling.

"Yes! No matter what, I'll follow wherever you go, Master Naofumi!" With her tail wagging, I could only pat her head.

For now… I guess I'll try to lighten up a bit…

This was a new world, after all...

**(A/N) **

**I'm happy to see that people are loving this story so far! Thank you, everyone, for showing your support! Anyway, like it is said in the story, some of the things that Naofumi was able to do in the previous world are going to be a bit different because the Neptunia world relies solely on attacking and assisting mechanics. Of course, since Naofumi has the Legendary Shield, the world has changed his shield's mechanics. I'll try to make some up the best I can, but hey, I'm not stopping anyone from giving me some ideas! But... there is a reason why I didn't say Naofumi was just _only _the Shield Hero in this note, here...**


	3. Chapter 3

**(A/N) **

**Um… okay? I didn't… expect… a lot of people to… support this story a lot. If by all means if you all continue to enjoy my terrible ideas put into a story, then please, support it some more. I wasn't planning on making another chapter today, but since I'm looking at all of these… ahem, comments and stuff, I figured that I should make another one. **

**Okay, I normally don't do this, but I'll just try this out once…**

**Looking at reviews! **

**I'll just pick a few since there has been… a lot in the span of two days so… yeah, I'll just choose a few right now and probably at the end, I'll show some more…**

**Rougedragon: I REALLY appreciate your long reviews, but I'm just going to show the important part that needs to be responded(not that your review wasn't important, I'm just saying. And thank you for your recommendation for shield abilities. I am a guy by the way… no problems. )**

**"looking cool so far, though I think you shouldn't use the turn-base and movement limitation mechanics, not only are those mostly for gameplay purposes and that they don't really fight like that in cutscenes but I feel it would limit on how you write the fight scene and I fear it might make you burn out on writing this story." **

**Ah, so here's one I read on my previous chapter. Okay, so, the mechanic for turn-based fighting was just a little… how I should I say it… ah, a funny mechanic. Now, in the beginning, I wasn't planning for this mechanic to be in boss fights. I was just going to get rid of that mechanic when the boss fights starts. The turn-based fighting was just for enemies that aren't that important. But if people don't really like this mechanic I'll just improvise a way to get rid of it entirely. I wasn't planning to always write the fights with the turn-based fighting as that will be repetitive, I can agree with that. Okay, you know what? I'll just take it out entirely. **

**Blue Zenith: **

**"Melomarc probs gonna be perished without Naofumi."**

**Heh, for the ones who's been saying this… yeah, they pretty much are. **

**Fafnir1404:**

**"You know what? You're awesome, you always seemed to be have the most interesting shield hero story concept. Keep up the good work. On another note, you know that Four Cardinal Heroes world was actually an amalgamation of worlds right? It would be interesting to see if the Four Legendary Heroes were summoned at the ruins of the original world's civilization."**

**You know what? You're breathtaking! All jokes aside, thank you for your kind words. If I knew that the world of the Four Cardinal Heroes world was an amalgamation of worlds… would it be a shame to say that I kind of knew about this, which caused me to start writing crossovers for the Rising of the Shield Hero? **

**HunterXKiller87: **

**I suspect that Neptune and naofumi will be antagonistic towards one another for a while. Wonder what she would do if she learned of melromarc and the other three heroes. Will she be disgusted and horrified that she's being compared to them by Naofumi? anyways interesting read.**

**As for this… you're going to have to read more to find out, right? **

**Okay, I'm going to end the responses for now. Just for a last saying, I'm not always going to include the turn-based system for every fight they have. If anything, for the fights that are worth writing about, then I'll write them with the turn-based mechanic. Like… one or twice. **

**Anyways, thank you all for the reviews and support, and I'll see y'all later! **

"Oooo! This old building is your base?! This is so fricken' cool!" As we arrived at the base, we entered some old and run-down building that was said to be Uzume's base. If I should say anything… it's pretty much a shithole.

I'll keep that comment to myself…

"Yes, indeed! It might be old, but everything that you need to survive is already here! A place to sleep, food, recovery items, and a communication terminal! It's basically a secret hideout from an anime!" ...I don't really see the reason why they think that this "base" was cool, but if they think that it's cool, then it's cool to them. And ONLY them…

"I don't think I've ever seen a place like this before. The… technology too! Look at all of this stuff, Naofumi!" Raphtalia was amazed at the terminal that was on the closest wall. It didn't appear to be on or working, but nonetheless, she finds it quite interesting.

"Uzume, what is this-huh? Uzume?" As Raphtalia wanted to know what the terminal on the wall could do, she turned to see Uzume, who was still on Filo.

"This… it's so… it's fluffy!" All of a sudden, Uzume's voice became high-pitched, which shocked me to an extent. Okay, that's some… change that she's got going there. "Fluffy! Fluffy! Fluffy!" Each time she said fluffy, her hand only petted Filo's fur. As we all watched her, I could only stare at her with dead eyes. What… kind of change is that?! She was all tough mere minutes ago, but now… she's acting like some kind of cute girl!

"Ah! Y-you guys didn't hear anything!" Snapping out from… whatever she had been doing, she jumped off Filo and walked over to us. "I-I hear that you all understand how wicked cool this place is, so I guess you all aren't that bad." I had no words whatsoever that said that this place was "cool".

"Um… Uzume? You okay? You went… a bit OOC on us." OOC? How the hell would she know what kind of character she is? As a matter of fact, why am I thinking too much to that idiot's words?!

"Neptune! You shouldn't… be rude to Uzume! Everyone's different, you know!" Why did she say that like she has some sort of problem? If anything, Nepgear is the one who's acting rude here!

"Ahem! L-like I said, you all didn't hear anything! Now, to the matter at hand, it's about time I told you all what's been happening around here," After getting rid of her embarrassed face, her expression immediately got serious. "...That giant is the cause of this nation's destruction. Not only that, but it has an ability… to erase any lifeform from out of existence." A… being that can erase any lifeforms from out of existence? What kind of enemy are we actually going to be dealing with? This… was some sort of god by the sound of it…

"Whaaaaat?! You mean that thing can make anything go poof?! And… everything's gone because of that thing?!" Neptune could only be in disbelief as she heard everything being explained to her. A bit dramatic, but understandable.

"That's… terrible. I can only imagine the number of people that lost their lives while living here…" Being thoughtful of the lives of the people who once lived here, Raphtalia's ears and tail drooped.

"I-I can see why we weren't able to feel our share energy while coming here…" Nepgear looked saddened when she heard it. Share energy… what is that supposed to mean? By the sound of it, it appears that it's connected to people, but… I can't figure out what that's supposed to be, though…

"Honestly, it's hard to say that it was the cause for the lack of people who lived here. I don't really remember if the people were killed by that thing or not. After the humans disappeared, all that I know was that highly intelligent yet kind creatures started to show up. They can even talk, as well. Anyway, our mission is to buy some time so we can get them out of the city." Wait, so if humans were… erased by that thing, then all that's left is monsters? Hold on, so the people that we're saving… are monsters? Why… why would that even be an objective?

"Uzume, I know there are… monsters that need saving, but… is there a way to take down that giant?" Raphtalia asked, hoping to find a way to take out the titan.

"I already tried a lot of things that could potentially take it down for good, but nothing worked! Nothing even came close to a scratch on that damn thing!" Raphtalia and Nepgear only looked saddened with her answer. "You know, it's quite sad, isn't it? For every time I wake to its loud footsteps, I was always scared. Scared that it was going to take away everything from me and scared… that we won't have any other places to run to. Sooner or later… this entire world would be at that giant's knees…" Uzume could only smile sadly and clench her fist. For… how long has she been fighting with this thing? Days? Months? Years?

"Uzume… but you won't have to fight it alone, this time! You have some people that are willing to fight! Together, we can-" Uzume cut off Nepgear by raising her hand.

"There's no need, Nepgear. You don't need to try to cheer me up because… I'm already happy with you guys here! With all of us, there could still be a way for us to take that thing out! I might be short-handed on my own, but you all here, I feel like I can do anything and everything!" No matter if she fought that thing alone on her own… she's brave. To have the world on her shoulders like this, she was still brave enough to buy some time and fight it off. She's… truly a Hero…

"I know that's right! With the main protagonist on your side, we'll be able to take on anything! Well… not as I am right now since I don't have any share energy…" Again, must she always think that this is a game? This titan can destroy anything it wants, and she can only think of this as a game? All of a sudden, a ringer had been heard from Uzume's wrist. She… has a phone-like communicator on her wrist?

"Ah! I'll be back in a second guys. Why don't you all talk to each other while I'm out?" With that, she answered the call and started to walk away.

"Well, that's a bummer! Anyway, how's it going new peeps?! You said that you've been sucked in by a portal, right? That must make this a fateful meeting! It's not everyday that-oooh, you have animalistic ears and a tail! Can I touch them? Can I? Can I?!" Like a child who wants to be spoiled, Neptune was in Raphtalia's face as she wanted to touch her ears and tail.

"U-um… go ahead?" Unsure as to what to say, Raphtalia allowed her to touch them. I didn't want to hear Neptune's response, so I decided to look at Nepgear, who was shyly standing next to me.

"U-um, hello, Naofumi, right?" As if this was her first time speaking to a boy, she averted her eyes a bit.

"Yeah, that's my name. Are you… okay, Nepgear?"

"Huh?! I'm sorry, it's just that… I'm not good at speaking to boys. If I offended you, please know that I apologize for my rudeness." Not used to boys, huh? She probably must've been around her sister or other girls for her entire life then, huh?

"You don't need to apologize, it's okay. I just found it weird that you're suddenly acting like this around me." I scratched the back of my head as I found it weird that I'm casually talking to a girl. If I was still in that previous world, then I wouldn't share a look at her.

"I-I'm sorry." Somehow, for whatever reason, she's started to remind me of Raphtalia when she was younger. For nearly everything she did, she always apologized, only for me to say that it's fine. Those were… memories that-

"Hey, um, Naofumi? If you don't mind me asking… can you tell me… how your world was like?" How… my world was like? All I could remember… was the previous world that had made me into the man I am today…

_Betrayal…_

_Disappointment…_

_They were all laughing at me..._

When I looked at her, she had some fear in her eyes. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to intrude!" ...I must've lost some control over myself. Just thinking back to those times only made me get furious.

"Sorry… that's just a topic that I don't want to talk about. I'll tell you about it another time…" Memories of Japan didn't even appear in my mind. Even if I told her that, all I could say that this it was a pretty boring world. Have school, think of what you want to do in life, find love, and die. That's all that made that life boring…

"I… I see. I'll… leave you-" Hearing footsteps coming towards us, I could only guess that it was Raphtalia and Neptune.

"Sooooo, what's your gig bad-looking man? Raphtalia here didn't want to say what kind of world you two came from, so I'd figured that I should ask you! Now… what's your backstory?" "Bad-looking man"? What the hell was that supposed to mean?! I swear, this annoying little kid!

"It shouldn't matter to you, kid. All you need to know is that I'm here to help. That's _all _you need to know about me." Neptune flinched a bit after saying that.

"K-k-k-kid?! Who are you calling kid?! I'll have you know that I'm a hundred years older than you, you know!"

"Whatever, loli. And first of all, stop thinking that this damn thing is a game! Are you THAT thick-headed that you think this entire fight is going to-"

"And that's where I stop you buggo! First, I won't stop anything because I'm stubborn! Newbies like you wouldn't understand the logic of Neptune: which is to never tell me what to do! And second, who are you calling loli?! Do all men think I'm a loli because of my size?! Just so you know, you're too tall! However, we'll see who's taller when I-" Her constant talking is starting to cause my ears to hurt.

"Okay, okay, whatever loli. Whatever suits best for you. If you die thinking that life was just a game, then just know that it was because of your stupidity, that got you to your own burial." Neptune pointed a finger at me with her other hand on her hip.

"Hah! We'll see about that! I'll have you know that I've been in many games! Including spin-offs too! Nothing in this world is going to stop the main protagonist from beating the game! Not ever!"

"Nepgear… what's a spin-off?" As Nepgear and Raphtalia heard us talk or rather arguing, Raphtalia asked what a spin-off was. I swear, by the time we're done with this world, Raphtalia's going to have thoughts about games for the rest of her life…

"Oh, that's just-"

"Hey, are you listening to me?! I told you that-" As Neptune had to jump in front of my face to draw my attention to her. Grabbing her head, I turned her body around.

"Go do whatever you kids do at your age. I don't even know why you're fighting at that age. You're too young to even be in this world, to begin with." As it was kind of a teasing and insulting manner, my lips started to curve upwards into a smirk.

"Ooooo, I can't wait to see your face when I transform! You're going to get what's coming to you sooner or later! For now on, I'll call you by the name of Newbie until you appreciate the grown-ups!" With my smirk disappearing in a second, I pinched the bridge of my nose as I was starting to get a headache.

"...Did something happen?" After being done with her call, Uzume walked in and was confused as to why we were all gathered like this.

"Nothing." I crossed my arms as I walked away from the group. "Nothing at all…" To be honest, I didn't want that to happen. I'm supposed to be more… easier to get along with, but because Neptune thinks that this is like a game, it only reminds me of those stupid Heroes in that previous world.

I'll just make healing potions to get my mind off of things…

* * *

"Whew! That goes the monsters in this area! Who knew that fighting off these guys would be a struggle?" After leaving Uzume's base after she recovered, we went back to the city to get these… good monsters out of the city. And that leaves where I'm at…

"I don't think that's the rest of them, Nepsy. We got a second wave coming." At most, these monsters weren't worth sparing a second glance at. Even with these turn-based mechanics, they weren't that strong to cause a problem for us. Since we're sitting at… about level 6-9, with Raphtalia, Filo and me being the lowest, the level 3-5 monsters didn't make that much of a problem. "Hey, Naofumi, thanks for that healing potion! I don't know what you put in that potion, but I feel like I was never harmed to begin with!" Uzume started to stretch her legs as she was good as new.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. It's something that… I'm used to by now." As it isn't anything new for me, support is what I'm basically used to now. Because of this shield, all I could basically do was healing and support back in the previous world. But now… I'm able to support and attack! No longer will this shield stop me from fighting anyone and anything! Well… first, I need to get some more shield abilities…

"Oh? Is that so? Well then, I hope I can count on you more often, then! Not only you but Nepsy and Gearsy!" Nepsy… and Gearsy? Oh yeah, those are those nicknames that Uzume gave Neptune and Nepgear. For whatever reason, Uzume had trouble pronouncing Neptune's and Nepgear's names, so she made those nicknames for her. It sounds… terrible, but I guess I have to deal with it.

*Grrrr!* Hearing a growl, we all turned to see a rather large monster that was… mostly larger than the monsters that we had already fought. The monster was brown, had four legs, and horns on the sides of its head. It… didn't look like it had something on its sleeves so this might be an easy pass-by.

"Oh, so you're back again?! Well, this time, I'm gonna make sure you won't have the chance to come back again!" Uzume, who seemed to recognize this monster, walks ahead of us while pounding her fist.

"Uzume, you know this monster?" While she was ready to strike the monster down, she was curious to know as to how Uzume knew the monster that was in front of us. Did it really matter?

"Oh, don't worry, we're the _best of friends_! Right, you freak?! For all the times you got in my way, I'm going to return the favor ten-fold!" Pulling out a… wait what is that? It's a crystal of some sort, but where did she get that from? She just… pulled it from out of nowhere.

"A-a share crystal?!" Nepgear's eyes widened as she recognized the crystal. I suppose I should bring up this topic at a later time. Right now, it'll just get in the way of fighting.

"I'm not going to allow you to get in my way again! With this, I'm stopping you here and now!" After the crystal got absorbed into her body, a light started to envelop from Uzume's body. As it came from out of nowhere, I had to shield my eyes from how bright the light was.

What came next… what the hell…

"Transformation complete~! CPU Orange Heart has arrived to the battle~!" In a high-pitched voice she had earlier, she... transformed. She… transformed? She transformed. Okay, please do NOT tell me that Neptune and Nepgear can-wait… ah, shit.

"C-CPU ORANGE HEART?!" Both Neptune and Nepgear was shocked beyond belief. Well, compared to them, I think I'm the most confused here…

"What a nice look for you, Uzume! I didn't know you could transform like that!" Raphtalia, who apparently wasn't bothered by her transformation at all, praised her. Could Raphtalia be used to something like this? She… basically transformed into a grown woman while she still has the mentality of a child, right? This… was different, right? I thought Demi-Humans were the only ones who could make a sudden transformation like this. Wait, it doesn't appear that Uzume grew older… she looks basically the same. Well, instead of her new look that consists of her orange-haired pigtails, a white and orange skirt-like outfit, and her wings that allow her to fly.

I am not going to comment on the random outfit she's wearing. Just go with it Naofumi, just go with it. While I can question her choice of weaponry that was only a megaphone, I couldn't talk. I only have a shield for a weapon so…

"Let's go girls… and guy… and Filo, please stay out of harm's way!" Filo, who I told to stay away from the battle, went "gwah!" again. Luckily, she was able to understand what we say to her…

_Boss Battle!_

Great, here's a boss battle. Now, we're going to be dealing with these stupid-

"Slash wave!" Without any warning, Nepgear used her Slash Wave attack, which caused a shockwave-like attack to form. As the monster started to move towards Nepgear, Uzume started to fly towards the monster and screamed into her megaphone, which caused the monster to flinch and move back a bit. Wait, hold on, whose turn was it? Wasn't it supposed to be a turn-based mechanic for this?!

"Wait, Neptune, whose turn was it?!" Since Neptune was the closest person to me, I had to ask her whose turn it was. I might not like her that much, but she might understand what's going on here. Even Raphtalia looked confused…

"Oh, that? Like I said Newbie, you're a newbie. Now, with those tiny little turn-based mechanics that's been plaguing my games for a long time, I found a way to get rid of them entirely! I've already done it to Uzume and Nepgear before this fight sooo... yeah, I'm a genius! I bet you didn't think I could do that, did you? All it took was a whisper!" Get rid of them?! Wait, so she knew how to get rid of them, and she didn't tell me?! What about from the monsters from earlier?! Did Nepgear and Uzume now about this?! "Now, if you want me to get rid of them, you have to stop calling me a-"

"Just do it already! At this point, we won't be able to help Uzume and Nepgear!" After screaming at her, her eyes managed to become… circles?! How the hell-you know what? I don't care anymore…

"Jeez! All right already! By the powers of the main protagonist, I wish upon this Newbie and his fluffy partner to fight on their own!" After raising her hands up for a couple of minutes… nothing happened. Okay, I've had it with this annoying kid!

"Idiot! Stop messing around and go help Nepgear and Uzume!" And so, to release some frustration, I smashed my fist into her head.

"Owie! What did you hit me on the head for?! I don't even remember why you're talking to me in the beginning!" She said that after rubbing her head. After she was done rubbing her head, a bump appeared on her head. Wait, what did she just say? What did she mean by she doesn't remember why I was talking to her?! Did I hit her head so hard that I caused some memory loss?! Okay, I've had it with her!

"Stop. Playing. Around! You told me you can get rid of the turn-based mechanics, so get rid of them already!" As I pinched both of her cheeks, she started to swing her arms around.

"Whach are you chalking about?! I donch have the power to do that!" After releasing her cheeks, I sighed. I'm getting nowhere with this idiot. Wait… when was I able to move so close to Neptune?

"Naofumi! I'm able to move around freely now! Look!" Turning to look at Raphtalia, she was starting to walk around freely without stopping. There's… no way it worked! No, this… idiot shouldn't have powers to even do that! Looking around me, I didn't see any kinds of a blue circle around me. It… did it actually work?!

"What?" It worked. Whatever she did there, it definitely worked! I don't see any types of commands or anything in front of my face anymore! Okay, I wanna know how the hell she was able to do that! No, that can wait for later. I need to hurry and help-

"Phew~! I didn't think it'll put that much of a fight, but the baddie is finally down~! Buh-bye~!" Did… did they seriously finish it without us?! They managed to take that damn thing down without our help?! Should I feel happy or disappointed?! At this point, I'm just confused! Why is this world so damn confusing?!

"I didn't expect your CPU transformation to be like this, Uzume. It suits you." Nepgear smiled as they were finally done with the monster. Of course, they had scratches and injuries on them, but they got the job done regardless.

"Aww~! Thank you so much, Gearsy! I wouldn't have finished it off without you~!" Suddenly, a light enveloped Uzume's body again, but this time, it wasn't as bright as before. After the light was gone, Uzume was back to her regular self. "Damn it! Why did I have to run out of time?! Whatever, I'm sure I'll be able to take down that damn giant without transforming!"

"Woah, that's a dramatic change! I kind of expected your transformation to make you more aggressive, Uzume!" Neptune, who still had a bump on her head, could only point at her with a smile.

"Hm? Now that I think about it, how do you and Gearsy know about CPU's?" Uzume asked with curiosity in her voice.

"Sorry that we didn't tell you, but Neptune and I are CPU's. Well, Neptune's a CPU while I'm a CPU Candidate!" Uzume's expression went from curious to shock.

"Wait, you two are CPU's?! Hell, fuckin' yeah! I never thought I'll be able to meet other CPU's! This is beyond cool! This… this… this is coolios! Yeah, that sounds cool, right?" Why is she even asking herself that?

"Anyway, is that all the monsters we had to kill, Uzume? Are all the "friendly" monsters out of the city?" I can't really say if monsters could ever be friendly, but I guess I have to see for myself.

"Thanks for reminding me, Naofumi. Hey, Umio! Is everyone out of the city?!" I wonder who's the person on the other end of that communicator? If they're in charge of evacuating the monsters out of the city, then they have to be a soldier of some sort, right?

"_Yes, Uzume. Because of you, I was able to get the monsters out of the city safely. We're in the next town over, so meet us when you escaped as well." _A man's voice, huh? Now that I think about it, this could be the only other man that I would meet in this world…

"Copy that! Good to hear that you all got out safely!" After hanging up, she smiled. "Now, I can fight without holding anything back. Since they got out of here, I don't have to worry about the others getting harmed in the process."

"What?! Uzume, don't you think we should escape as well?!" Nepgear had a clear thought of us all getting out to escape.

"Escape?! The hell do you think I am?! I've waited for so long to put this giant down, and you expect me to waste it?!" Judging by the fierce look on her face, I could tell Uzume doesn't want to leave without fighting that thing. With the injuries she's got in that fight with that monster… she won't be able to keep up with it. This was because I wasted time speaking to Neptune, that I didn't have the chance to cover Uzume and Nepgear!

As I walked over to Uzume, there was something behind her. Was that… a purple orb? And why was it radiating like that? Wait… is that thing starting to become smaller and smaller?

"Move it!" Without wasting anymore time, I moved Uzume behind me and raised my shield. Because I didn't have the chance to change the shield into something with more defense, I kind of took the entire blow.

"Naofumi!" As Uzume and I were both blown back, I could feel my body burning for some reason. Damn it… that titan packs one hell of an attack! I… can't risk getting hit by that thing! Even with my huge defense stats, that titan was almost able to go past my defense and kill me! Just how strong was that damn thing?!

"Naofumi! Uzume! Are you both all right?!" As Raphtalia and Nepgear ran to our sides, Raphtalia grabbed onto my arm to pick me up. The burning sensation was hurting before, but when I move, it's a hundred times worse!

"Naofumi… thanks. Nepsy! Gearsy! Raphtalia! All three of you, take Naofumi out of here! With an attack like that, he won't be able to survive another one of them!" While I had both of my arms around Nepgear and Raphtalia, Uzume was starting to walk towards the titan that was nearby.

"What?! Uzume, you can't do that! We can all get out of here while we-"

"Shut up!" Hearing Uzume's sudden outburst, we were all shocked.

"W-what?" Nepgear was shivering a bit from Uzume's outburst. I can guess that she's not used to being yelled at, huh?

"This… this is the chance that I've been waiting for! While everyone is gone, while everyone is safe from this monster, I can finally finish this thing once and for all! No more will others have to suffer from this damn thing! I don't expect any of you to get it, so just go! Get Naofumi somewhere safe and go!" Why… why is she so damn stubborn! Doesn't she know that she could get killed by that thing?! Wait, when did Raphtalia let go of my arm?

"You can't do this, Uzume! You can't go out there and fight it by yourself like that! You're too injured to-"

"Even so, I have to fight! If it's for the sake of others freedom from this thing, I'll fight it until I die! If I have to take it down with me, then I'll take that-"

*Slap!*

"Wake up." Raphtalia, after smacking Uzume, glared at her. Uzume could only hold her cheek at the spot she was just smacked at. Which was the left one by the way…

"H-huh?" Uzume asked, shocked that Raphtalia would even smack her. I'm surprised too, but I can't really say that I wouldn't do that instead of her…

"Wake up, Uzume. Mas-Naofumi had gotten hurt because of you… and… and you just want to risk your life like this?!" Raphtalia was clearly upset at her. With her tail raised up like that, it was clear as daylight that she was upset.

"But it's my job! As a CPU, I'm supposed to protect the innocent!"

"Yes, I heard you say that before, Uzume. But how can you really protect the innocent if you're gone?" Uzume started to clench her fist as she was starting to sweat nervously. "If you die to that… thing, then it will only come back to destroy everything you risked your life to protect. Is that what you want, Uzume? For everyone to cower in fear because they know that their only savior had died to that thing?!" Uzume could only lower her head while gritting her teeth. She was really beating herself over this. Getting Nepgear's hand off of my arm, I started to walk towards them. As Nepgear didn't want me moving too much, I still walked to them. I… didn't think that attack would cause me to limp...

"All right Raphtalia, that's enough. I'll take it from here…" Raphtalia turned towards me and immediately went to hold onto my shoulder.

"Naofumi, you shouldn't be-" I raised my hand to stop her from talking.

"Uzume." Raising her head at me, I could see the uncertainty in her eyes. She was… afraid. "Tell me, are you afraid of that titan?" My question caused her eyes to widen, but she didn't answer. "Good. Now, why would you want to fight, when you're afraid and cowering like a little girl?" It was harsh, but it needed to be said.

"W-what?! I'm… I'm not cowering like a little girl! I… I have to fight that thing to stop it! You've seen what it's capable of Naofumi, so let me-" Raising my hand to stop her, she paused.

"Yes, I've seen what that thing could do. Much to my dismay when I first got here, yes, I saw what that thing can and would do to us. Ask yourself this Uzume: am I really prepared on fighting this thing? Am I going to die if I head out like an idiot? And most importantly… is this what everyone expects of me?"

"I… I…" Uzume started to stutter as she didn't know what to say. I guess I hit home…

"You said that you wanted everyone to be free from the terrors of this thing, right? How can you say that for everyone, if you continue to push yourself like this? I might not know how long you've been fighting that thing, but I can tell that you've been struggling. Not in battle, but for the hope to see if you will be able to be free from your own job. It feels like the remains of whatever this world was are all on your shoulders, right? Of course, you've changed yourself to fight right? I'm sure that you weren't all tough like this in the beginning, right? You were scared. Without anyone to fight alongside with, you took the world and placed on your shoulders. Not a single person was able to grab your shoulder, right? Struggle. Struggle. And struggle. This is the cruel world that we all have to live in, right? Life is all about struggling, yet, we need somebody to hold our shoulders that hold the responsibility too. But now, you have some others to rely on, right? If you put yourself out there and die, it was going to be the exact way you wanted. You wanted someone to hold your responsibility too, right? You're not trying to help anyone… you're just trying to help yourself. And to that… you're only being selfish. And to that… I can't blame you… for I-" My head was starting to feel a bit dizzy now... damn that titan...

I didn't know who I was talking about anymore. Was it Uzume? Or was it me? At that point, I couldn't tell. Sure, she wanted to save everyone, but most importantly, she wanted to save herself. For someone who's been fighting all this time alone, how couldn't they be selfish? Or… was I wrong entirely? Was I… telling her that I was the one who was being selfish? To hold the responsibility to save a fucking world that betrayed me, I didn't want that anymore. I wanted to be free. Free from the cruel world that I was put in, free from the looks and gazes from others... and I wanted to be free from the 'me' that was in that world.

That was not 'me'.

Betrayal has changed 'me'.

And yet… I see myself in Uzume's shoes…

I… should probably take a nap now...

This pain just hurts...

**(A/N) **

**Sorry... I'm tired for today. Sorry if my... improvised way of getting rid of the turn-based mechanics didn't look good. I tried my best to imitate Neptune's breaking-of-the-fourth-wall attitude. Don't worry, I won't be doing that...method anymore. **


	4. Chapter 4

...It's rough. I remember this rough feeling… I'm back at the base, aren't I? With this familiar feeling of roughness on my back, I could only groan a bit. Since this world is beyond reconstruction, there are not that many places to stay at. No, there _isn't _any safe place to stay at. Sooner or later, this place will be destroyed just like the rest of the world.

...Positive thoughts, Naofumi. Positive thoughts.

By the way, where is everyone? Even if they managed to get me out of there, I wouldn't expect them to go back out and fight that titan. Getting out of bed, I looked around to see Filo, who was sleeping silently in the corner. Yeah, if Filo's here, then they're still here.

"Hey, Filo." Petting her head a bit, she slowly started to wake up. "Hey, where're the others, Filo?" After blinking three times, she started to smile. After that, she looked up at the ceiling. Okay, they must be at the roof, then? After petting Filo again, I started to walk towards the staircase. Why would they even be on the rooftop? Upon walking to the rooftop, I was starting to hear voices…

"This is too embarrassing…" Even though she sounded embarrassed and a bit shy, that was definitely Uzume's voice I just heard.

"Embarrassed? What's wrong Uzume? Afraid of showing off some skin?" Annoying and mocking voice… that's Neptune.

"T-there's no one watching, right?"

"I'm sure there's no one else but us, Nepgear. Try not to worry about it, okay?" So Raphtalia's reassuring Nepgear that no one's watching them, huh? I'm glad to hear that Raphtalia is starting to interact with others easily, now. Even though she's been with me for most of her time, she's able to interact with others without trouble.

Hm? What's this on the ground? Next to the door that led out to the rooftop, there was some kind of black device on the floor that had the letter 'N' on the back of it. This belongs to Nepgear or Neptune, probably. I should probably give this back to her-woah! Touching the power button on the device by a mistake, it turned on. When it turned on, the only thing I could see was a… journal entry?

_Journal 11 Month 27 Day _

_The ...th … has been born at …'s Basilicon. _

… _Month … Day _

_We gave the name … to the newly born …_

What's… this? Basilicon, newly born… what exactly is this journal? There's more to it, but the rest of them had way too many errors on them. Maybe if I learn more about this world, then I'll be able to understand what this journal is trying to say. Most of these words were incredibly scrambled, anyway. Until then, I'm going to have to ask one of those sisters if they could translate some of this for me. Looking at the title on this, it only reads " Recently Found Records". Hmm… there must be more out there then? I'm Nepgear found this since… Neptune wouldn't be _that _smart to find records like these...

_Beep! Beep! _Huh? What's that strange beeping noise? Looking at the floor where I found the black device, there was another device laying on the floor. That's… the communicator that Uzume wears on her wrist all the time. Why would she even take it off to begin with? If it's beeping like that, it means that someone is calling Uzume. Well, calling the communicator…

"Um… hello? Anyone there?" After touching a small button that was possibly the button to answer the call, I asked if there was anyone on the other end. I hope I didn't press the wrong button…

"_Hello, who is this? I don't believe we've met before? Are… perhaps a friend of Uzume?" _It was a man's voice. This was… the person that Uzume could've been communicating with the entire time? He seems calm and collected, so I should just answer him…

"I… guess you can say that. We've only met for a day or two, so I guess that makes us acquaintances." Has it ever been a day? I couldn't tell because I can't figure out if there's a moon or not because of this damn purple sky!

"_Hmm… I suppose you're telling the truth. Not once, did I ever believe of hearing another man's voice other than mine! Anyway, may you please put Uzume on the call? I have something to discuss-wait, w-who are you?! W-what do you think you're doing?!" _Suddenly, the communicator cut off. Shit, did something happen on the other end?! Uzume's gonna need to hear about this!

Not wasting a second, I opened the doors to the rooftop in a hurry. "Uzume! Listen, you're friend-what's going on here?" After opening the door, I was greeted with the sight of all of them naked and in a tub of water. Are they showering?!

"Kyaaa! Get out, Naofumi! Out! Out!" Immediately reacting, Nepgear covered her body and went deeper into the tub of water.

"W-why you! You wanna get punched, don't you?!" Covering her body with her left arm, Uzume raised her right fist and started to clench it. Huh, I'd never expect to see her with a red face like that...

"Mas-N-Naofumi! Y-you can't be here!" Raphtalia only went deeper into the tub of water as well. Even while she was doing that, she kept looking at the water and back at me. What's wrong with her?

"What? Nevermind that, just listen to me! Uzume, your friend from the communicator might be in trouble!" Upon hearing me, Uzume's face went serious.

"Umio?! You mean Umio's in trouble?!" I nodded my head, regardless if that was his name or not. If I remember correctly, based on what Uzume said before, this Umio person should be in a safe place. If that's the case, then why was he attacked? "Damn it! All right, girls, hurry and get your clothes on! We have to hurry and save Umio!" While she was naked, she jumped out of the tub of water and walked to get her clothes that were on the floor next to her.

"R-right!" Everyone but Neptune responded. Looking at her, I could see that she was in a daze of some sort. Whatever that daze was, it involved gazing intensely at me. She held no emotion, which I found odd, but who cares anyway?

"And don't you _dare _forget about this. After I save Umio, we're going to have a talk… _right_?" After getting her shirt and skirt back on, Uzume walked up to me and glared at me. Was this some kind of threat? If it was, then I'm not scared. Especially when her cheeks is as red as tomatoes…

"Yeah, yeah, we've got someone to save, don't we?" Brushing off her "threat", I crossed my arms as I waited for everyone to get dressed. Still odd that Neptune was still staring at me like this, but it still doesn't matter.

"Yeah… you're right." After she said that, all of a sudden, I felt arms around my waist. Based on how small they were… I could only guess one person…

"Gotcha'!" Neptune, while she was still naked, wrapped her arms around my body.

"Neptune… what the hell are you doing?" Automatically taking her arms off of me, I looked back at her with a glare. I might stick around them for some time, but I won't allow them to touch me when I don't want to be touched…

"Neptune! What's gotten into you?! Put your clothes back on!" Nepgear, who was hiding behind the tub of water with only her head popping out, basically lectured her.

"The rules, the rules! If a man sees a woman in her birthday suit, then he _must _return the favor!" While she said that, Neptune's eyes were starting to… spin in a spiral? How the hell is she doing that?

"What?!" Raphtalia, who was also behind the tub of water, poked her head out with a voice of disbelief.

"Take them off, Newbie! It's… it's… it's part of the rules! The game! You must follow the game! Naked scene! Naked scene! Male naked scene!" Okay, she's starting to look crazy when she's starting to huff and puff after she said that. Not only that, but her spiral-like eyes were starting to be weird as well…

"Neptune! Naofumi, please get away from her! I've never seen her like this! Just go!" I didn't know what she meant by that, but I guess okay, then. Scratching my head, I walked away from the creepy-looking Neptune who continued to huff and puff…

Damn lolis...

* * *

"Umio?! Umio, where are you?!" As we were standing in the middle of nowhere, we had no leads as to where this Umio person could be at. Even if he was at another town, there's no way he would just stay around there if he was attacked. What the hell was the point of buying him and the others some time to escape from the city, if they were going to get attacked again? "Damn it! Naofumi, did he tell you where he could be at?"

"Well, if I knew, then we would be there, right? Even if he did tell me, I don't know this world as much as you do, Uzume."

"Tch! Why the hell did this have to happen to Umio?!" Even if she didn't care about my sarcastic attitude, I could only mentally slap myself on the head. In this kind of situation, there's no time to be sarcastic. I'm supposed to be more… friendly, so why the hell am I still acting like this?

"It's okay, Uzume. You need to calm down." Nepgear was already at Uzume's side as she starts to pat Uzume's back. In response, Uzume started to take a deep breath slowly. I guess she finally managed to find a way to calm down her temper…

"Yeah, you're right, Gearsy. I should just relax a bit. I'm sure Umio's capable of finding a way to escape the monster that attacked him." Uzume started to smile a bit as she started to calm down. By the sound of it, this Umio person isn't capable of protecting himself. I wonder… is he a monster? That… can't be, right? I mean, how could a monster have that kind of manly voice?

"You must have a lot of faith in this person, Uzume." Raphtalia commented while smiling.

"Huh? Yeah… I guess you can say that I have a lot of faith in him. I shouldn't have lost my cool there. Since this isn't exactly the first time Umio's been attacked, I shouldn't be _that _concerned. All I have to do is find him and beat the hell out of the monster that attacked him." Raphtalia's ears twitched at what she said.

"Then… that makes you his savior, right?" Oddly, Raphtalia started to smile at what she had said.

"Savior… I guess that sounds cool. Yeah, I'm basically Umio's savior! Oh, I can just imagine it! When we find him, he's going to have this terrified look on his face, and he's going to call out my name like "Uzume, please save me"~! Okay, at this point, that… other side of her was starting to show. "And like, he'll totally be happy to see me, you know~? He'll be super happy that I beat up the meanie and icky monsters that were bullying him~! Umio will be saved and-ah!" Realizing what she was saying, she stopped talking. Somehow… that form with her orange hair has some connection to the personality she had only display just a few seconds ago…

"A-ahem! A-ahem! Yeah, being Umio's savior wouldn't be a big deal to me. I'm practically like that to everyone." She started to sweat a bit nervously, but we decided not to comment on her… changed personality. While I showed no expression, Raphtalia and Nepgear were a bit shocked. "A-anyway, let's start searching around a bit more to see if he left any tracks! Who knows? Someone might actually come up to us and tell-"

"Miss Uzume! Miss Uzume!" Hearing a highly-pitched voice from behind me, I could see-oh my god what is that thing?! It's… some orange creature that had… a red-like mohawk? I don't know what hairstyle that is, but I don't think any normal monster should have one! And what's up with its cute voice! Why does its voice has to match up with its eyes, but not its body?! Was this supposed to be those "nice" monsters Uzume's been talking about?!

"Huh? Something wrong, Baby Bug?" Judging by the random encounter, I have a feeling it's about this Umio person.

"It's Umio! He was attacked by this large monster! You have to come quickly!" With that, the monster sped off into the direction where Umio could potentially be at. Uzume, without wasting any time, quickly ran after it. We all continued to stare at Uzume and the creature as they began to run off into the direction where this Umio person was.

"W-wait for me, Uzume! C'mon, Neptune!' Grabbing her sisters hand, who's been quiet since the walk coming here, they quickly sped off towards Uzume. All that was left was me, Raphtalia, and Filo.

"It's… been a while since it's been just the three of us, right, Naofumi?" I could only continue to stare at the direction they were running to, which was towards an abandoned and huge building.

"Yeah… sometimes, I'd like the peace and quiet."

"When you say that… you're smiling, Naofumi." I didn't even want to acknowledge what she had said. It was more embarrassing to hear her say that to me. "You… aren't feeling any pain, right, Naofumi?" I shook my head as a response. I actually don't feel any pain anymore. I'm guessing that they had to use healing potions so I could recover quickly. "Good… I was worried that I was going to lose you. After we took you back to the base, you were asleep for a long time." While I was turned away from her, I felt her arms wrap around my waist as she pulled me into a hug.

"Raphtalia…" I don't know why, but I said her name gently. Responded to my voice, she simply hugged tighter.

"Naofumi… I hope I can continue to call your name like this. It's… like everything that happened to us, never happened. Like a fresh restart, like being born anew… this is a new world, Naofumi. But… even if it's a new world, is it… wrong to feel scared? When I continue to look at the sky, I can see nothing but evil from the clouds. There's no sun, there's no moon, there's only evil. We can't even tell if a day had passed or not. Is this… truly a world that we will truly love?"

I didn't respond to her. I don't have any words at this time, that would make it any different than how we were right now. And to that, I looked back at her and smiled.

"Naofumi," Raphtalia's eyes widened after seeing my smile, but not before putting up one of her own. "Yes, I'll be sure to continue to follow you. No matter which world we'll be in, I will continue to raise my sword to our enemies for you." Digging her head deep into my back, I could only look up at the sky. All that was there was evil… just like she said.

I wonder… who's up there watching over us, now?

* * *

"Jeez, I didn't think you all would be able to clear out _this _many monsters…" Upon reaching the abandoned building, we were greeted with the sight of dead monsters on the floor. As I didn't waste any time absorbing their remains, we quickly followed the trail of dead bodies that led us… here. Several floors underground with only monsters to greet us...

"How can a building look so ugly from the outside, but so high-tech in the inside?" Neptune, who finally started to talk again, commented on the buildings inside decorations. I hate to admit it, but she's right. This place looked _way _too futuristic to be an abandoned building. No, it was my misinterpretation, that I didn't notice that this place was a station; a train station. I wonder how civilization was like before this place went to hell.

"Now is not the time for sight-seeing, Nepsy, we have to find Umio and get out of this place." Uzume was starting to speed-walk ahead of us as she was getting impatient that there weren't any signs of this Umio person. While we continued to walk, there has been no signs of monsters lingering around. Odd… isn't there supposed to be more monsters as we progressed into the dungeon? There were several floors… but no signs of monsters nearby. This… something isn't right here. Because Uzume, Neptune, and Nepgear had cleared out a huge majority of monsters at the beginning of the dungeon, we're sitting at nine through ten. Even if we're away from them, the members of the party will still get the EXP… that's fine.

"Now that I think about it, how long have you met Umio, Uzume? Ever since we met, you haven't been talking to us about this person…" Bringing up Umio, Raphtalia responded by asking her the two's relationship.

"Umio? Hmm, it's been so long that I can't even remember correctly. We've been trying to make a difference in the world for a long time, that I can't even remember the first time we met. So long… that I can't even remember much of what happened in the past…" My eyebrow raised slightly as I was curious as to what she meant by that. She's been fighting for so long… that she forgot about the past? That's… not something that should be looked over…

"Huh? Uzume… have you lost your memories?" Nepgear's voice was filled with curiosity and concern. Her struggles must have been hard…

"...Don't worry about it, guys. Let's talk about this another time, okay? Let's just focus on Umio…" When she looked back at us with a smile, I can't tell if it was an actual smile or not. If it was strained, then she was doing a pretty good damn job at hiding it.

* * *

"...I'm hungry, y'all…" As we walked down another staircase, I've noticed that we've been walking around for some time now. As the dungeon got larger and larger as we walked, Neptune was the first to complain.

"Just wait a little longer, Nepsy, we'll be out soon." Well, at this rate, I don't think we'll be seeing a way out of this dungeon if it keeps continuing like this…

"But food is the most essential thing that the body needs! Especially with a body like mine, I need a lot to eat! Buffet! I need a buffet!" Jeez, she's really starting to get annoying! How can she be so laid back in a situation like this?! Just ignore her, Naofumi...

"Miss Uzume! Miss Uzume! Over here!" As we all heard a familiar high-pitched voice, we turned to the direction it came from… which was to the-oh my god.

"Miss Uzume's here! Miss Uzume's here!" Another high-pitched voice exclaimed.

"Who're those people?! There's a man! He looks scary!" Another.

"Yeah! Yeah! Who are those people?! There's a huge bird with them, too!" And another. Oh my god… there's a whole bunch of them in front of us! Why is there a bunch of them here?! And what are those slimes that have dog ears and a tail?! Filo only "gwah!" again when she saw them. Is she happy to see them… or is she hungry? Her eyes are looking a bit fierce, right now...

"I've never seen so many Baby Bugs around in one place! There's like thirty of them!" Even while having some familiarity with these monsters, Nepgear looked shocked beyond belief.

"...I wonder if Baby Bugs will taste like shrimp…" As she muttered to herself, Neptune had a creepy smile on her face as she looked at the bunch of monsters that were in front of us. I'm glad they didn't hear her…

"How's it going, guys? You all must be tough if y'all can just wait here for me while there's danger around! Have any of you seen Umio?!" The closest Baby Bug to Uzume was starting to crawl towards her.

"He went that way! He also carried a sharacite with him, too! You should've seen him, Miss Uzume! He was brave enough to take the sharcite with him, so it couldn't get destroyed by the monster!" Uzume's eyes widened when she heard that.

"Umio has a sharacite?! Damn, I don't know what to feel! Should I feel happy that he found a sharacite? Or should I feel annoyed that he put himself at risk like this?!" As Uzume continued to talk to the huge group of monsters, I felt something nudge at the bottom of my leg. Looking down, I could see one of those blue slimes with the dog ears and tail.

"Are you… going to save Umio, dogoo~?" With its saddened face, I could tell they were concerned for the safety of their comrade. Looking around, I could see Raphtalia kneeling down to some of them, and started to pet some of them. She's… gentle, I guess. Kneeling down as well, I started to pet it. As it was a bit slimy, it felt like I was touching a ball of some sort.

"...Yeah, don't worry about a thing. We'll save your comrade at any means necessary." The only way to calm someone down is to reassure them that everything's going to be okay. It did always work for Raphtalia… even if the odds were against us.

"Really, dogoo~? You help Miss Uzume, and you promise to help Umio, dogoo~! You are really nice, mean-looking guy, dogoo~!" I ignored the weird name it had for me and continued to pet it. Nice, huh? Never thought I'd hear that from some monster…

"Plug in the cord into this terminal and… there!" Hearing Nepgear's voice, I turned to where I heard her, which was behind me in fact. What was she doing? Wait, is she gathering information on that journal thing I've read before? After I was done petting the… slime creature, it bounced its way towards Uzume. After seeing that, I walked towards Nepgear to see what she had so far.

"Hiding things, are we?"

"Ah! N-Naofumi, you scared me!" Hearing me behind her, Nepgear jolted up from the spot she was standing at. With her black device in hand, it only proved that she _was _gathering some information. "A-anyway, is there something you need? I thought you were going to wait with Uzume and find some-"

"Yeah, I don't feel comfortable talking to the creatures that could potentially kill us in the future. What I want to know, is why are you gathering information like this without saying anything…" It wasn't that I didn't trust her, I just wanted to know why she didn't tell her anyone about her recent findings.

"So… you know, right? It's just that… I wanted to descramble the journal entries so I can understand a bit more about this world. I didn't want to show them something that wasn't… that of use to them." I get it. She didn't want to show us something that probably meant nothing because we can't actually read it.

"It's fine, Nepgear. Anything about this world should be valuable to all of us. No matter what, we need to know what we're dealing with in this world, so we need all the information we can get. Just remember to talk to the others about this, so they can understand what you're doing." Nepgear's eyes widened a bit before smiling.

"Yes! I'll be sure to talk to them when we have the time! Thank you, Naofumi!" "Thank you"? Do I really deserve a "thank you" for what I just said?

"...Yeah." Walking over to the group of monsters with Uzume, Neptune and Raphtalia, I could only play those back into my head again and again…

"Thank you".

For what exactly…?

* * *

"This is one of those monsters that jumped Umio! I'm going to make sure that I pummel this thing until no tomorrow!" Cracking her knuckles, Uzume was already ready for a fight. The monster, which was a horse of some sort, only stared at us. With its purple and red colored body, I could tell that this thing won't go down without a fight. Based on what those monsters told us, this, along with another powerful monster, was going to be hard to fight.

"Cross Combination!" Neptune, without thinking of a plan, rushed towards the horse-like monster. Damn it, why can't we just analyze the situation a bit more before jumping into a fight?! As Neptune was doing her series of attacks on the monster… it only stood there. Wait, why was it just standing there? No, not even that, but it didn't even flinch from Neptune's attacks!

"Mirage Dance!" As Nepgear started to gracefully attack the monster in a dance-like fashion, the monster didn't move or flinch again. The only thing it did was exhale through its nose. Was this thing toying with us?!

"Raphtalia! Uzume! Wait a second!" Before they rushed into the fight, they stopped to look at me.

"Naofumi, what gives? We gotta hurry and kill this monster before-"

"Yeah, I know that already! Just take a minute and analyze the situation before attacking, all right?! Look, even when Neptune and Nepgear attack the monster, it didn't flinch... _at all_, Uzume."

"What are you suggesting, Naofumi? Is there something that we're not seeing?" Something, huh? Those… wings on its sides! They could be some sort of armor! With how strange it looks on its body, it has something to do with the reason why it isn't moving!

"The wings! Neptune, Nepgear! Focus your attacks on its wings!" Hearing me, Uzume and Raphtalia started to run towards the wings of the monster.

"Do your best, Nep. Jr!" Giving a buff to Nepgear, she quickly didn't waste any time going after the wings on the monster.

"Right, Neptune! Here I go! Slash Wave!" Using her Slash Wave attack, her attack was directed at the monster's wings. However, upon seeing this, the monster quickly moved to the side so it couldn't get it by it.

"Rope Shield!" Changing my shield to the Rope Shield, I used the rope ability to latch onto the right wing of its body. "Like your going to escape, asshole!" Pulling on the rope, I tried to detach the wing from its body. Much to my dismay, I felt myself start to get dragged towards it. Damn it, its trying to pull me towards it! Damn! Binding won't work either!

"Haaaa!" Without any warnings, Raphtalia came from out of nowhere and cut off the wing from its body. Great, that's one wing, down! Seeing that one of its wings were gone, the horse turned away from us and tried to escape. Key word: tried. We have an angry Uzume on our side...

"What's the matter?! Afraid that you're going to lose your beautiful wing?! You were all cocky a minute ago, so where did all that bravado go?! You attack Umio, stand here proudly for what you've done, and think you can get away?! Eat this, asshole!" As it was trying to get away, Uzume jumped into the air and screamed into her megaphone, which gave off sound waves that caused the monster to tumble onto the floor. "Share crystal!" Pulling out a spare crystal, she absorbed it into her body.

"I'll help you, Uzume!" Sheathing her sword into its sheath, the entire thing was covered in light. "Light's Edge!" I didn't see what happened, but in a second, the monster's other wing was gone. She was fast enough that I didn't see her pull her blade out?! That's incredible! However, after she did that, she fell onto her knee.

"Raphtalia?! Are you okay?! Here, let me heal you!" While Nepgear was faster than me to respond, she quickly went to Raphtalia's side and started to heal her.

"I… don't need to be healed, Nepgear. I just need an SP potion, that's all. Thank you, anyway…" She sounded tired, but if all she needed was SP, then I'm sure Nepgear will provide it easily.

"I'll make sure you won't hurt anyone ever again you meanie! Dream Roar!" From the sky, while she was in her transformed state, Uzume dive kicked the monster who was already on the floor, went back into the sky, and screamed into her megaphone again, causing the ground to be raised beneath the monster. Jeez… that's some firepower she's got in that megaphone…

"And we're done here, everyone~!" Landing back onto the floor, Uzume gave us a peace sign. I guess Uzume change a lot after she transforms. Well, if the monster was dead, then I guess everything's okay. After going back to her original state, Uzume ran towards a corner. Was that where Umio was?

"Umio, are you okay? I've noticed you hiding here while I was flying. You're not hurt are you?" Hearing Uzume's concerned voice, I began to walk towards her. "Oh, cut it out, Umio! I have some friends who want to meet you! Guys, come over here and meet Umio!" I didn't hear Umio, but everyone started to walk towards Uzume to meet-

"Ah, so you are the people who wish to meet me. I am pleased to meet you all. Especially you, young man. If you didn't tell Uzume that I was in trouble, then I don't know-" I didn't want him to continue talking. With his smooth and manly voice, I thought this was a guy! No, like an actual guy! Not… not an-

"Whaaaaaat?! It's a talking man fish! And he has a stoic face, too!" Neptune exclaimed while surprised.

"With his soothing voice, his appearance was… not what I expected!" Nepgear's eyes were starting to turn into a spiral like Neptune earlier…

"...This world is weird, Naofumi…" That was all Raphtalia said to me as I continued to look at the man… fish in shock. No, I called this before, so why am I shocked?!

_***Graaaaaahhh!***_ Hearing a scream behind me, I immediately turned around to see a monster that was strangely similar to the one Uzume and Nepgear fought from before. But this one… was different. It was surrounded in purple and black aura… something that I've never seen before!

"Huh? What was that-" Before even Raphtalia could respond, I prepared myself to fight. I don't know how this monster was able to sneak behind us, but it's not good...

"Bit Shield!" The Bit Shield was a shield that gave less defense than the Legendary Shield. However, what makes up for the loss of defense, it makes up for offense. It's offense… was dark magic! "Sphere!" Casting a spell at the monster, the area around the monster had been covered in a dark magical sphere. I don't know if it did any damage, but-

_Thud! _What? Was… that a thud I just heard?

"Naofumi, what was that thing?" I don't know why Uzume's asking me of all people, but okay, I guess.

"I don't know. It came from behind us and I attacked it. It almost resembled that monster that you killed back in the city…"

"Are you sure? We Uzume and I made sure it was dead, Naofumi. Are you sure it looked exactly like the monster we've killed before?" I didn't answer Nepgear because I waited for the spell to be done and over with.

"This… is truly a surprising predicament we find ourselves in. If the monster is dead, then we must not waste any more time and hurry out of here!"

"Right, Umio! Naofumi, it looks like you killed the monster so-" I raised my hand to make her stop talking. Yes, after the spell was done, all that was revealed was the monster's dead body. However, even while it was dead, I could see _something _sparkle right next to it. Walking towards it, I had to see what that _something _was.

"Naofumi, I don't think you should get any closer!" Raphtalia tried to stop me, but I didn't listen to her. I found it odd, though. For a monster to appear like that, I would expect it to put up more of a fight, but it was a let-down. As I was standing over the monster's dead body, I grabbed the thing that I saw was sparkling…

"That's… a sharacite! Why would a monster have a sharacite?!" Nepgear immediately recognized the crystal that was in my hands.

"Wow, that's unexpected! So, what? Did a monster accidentally eat it to make themselves turn into that thing?" At least Neptune's questions this time is realistic. While they continued to talk amongst themselves, I only continued to stare at the monster.

_Naofumi: Level Up! _

_Level: 14 _

What?! Level fourteen?! If I just got this random jump in level, then that means that the others did too. This only means one thing: this monster _was _supposed to be a problem to us. I wouldn't expect something at a higher level than us to die in only one attack. Especially from an attack from the shield. Something… isn't right here. How could something like this just die in one attack?

Unless… it was injured?

Even then, why would it just come here of all places? Wouldn't it just run away so it could live? This isn't adding up!

"_**Kukukuku…" **_ That… that was laughter I just heard, right now!

...This wasn't a coincidence. This was something that had been planned out… by _someone_. I don't know who, but there's someone out here watching us…

And I don't think the person watching us… is from "up there"...


	5. Chapter 5

"I see… I'm beginning to make sense of your all… unique predicament," I am seriously feeling uncomfortable listening to a talking fish that has some manly voice. "If Naofumi here didn't explain things less more… complicated than Nepsy, then I wouldn't have thought you all came from another dimension; I would've thought that you all were delusional…" Yeah, listening to an idiot would make you think that…

"Hey, what's the matter with my explanation?! All I said that we were sucked in by a game console!" Neptune complained, not liking the soft insult that's been directed at her. If you randomly talked to somebody like that and you're Neptune, then no wonder people might think you're delusional. "I'm starting to like the other dimension we've traveled to a whole lot better than this one…" When Neptune ended her complaints, all eyes had been turned to her.

"What do you mean by that, Nepsy? You mean… this isn't your first time traveling to another dimension?" Uzume asked. Okay, how in the hell is this not her first time traveling to… another dimension? With her stupidity, I fail to believe that she created some sort of dimension traveling machine.

"Oh, of course not! When you're the main protagonist, you get thrown into-"

"Okay, that's enough of that. Is there something else we can talk about besides listening to this idiot?" Cutting her off, I had no reason to listen to her… random nonsense.

"Who are you calling an idiot?! Newbie, take that back or I'll-" Before she could speak any longer, Nepgear put her hand over Neptune's mouth.

"Please excuse her rudeness, Umio. Now, onto more pressing matters, I… didn't think we'd end up in another dimension." She says all of this while holding down an annoyed Neptune. "It was a struggle to get back home, and when we eventually got back, while he had been in that other dimension for years, we've only been gone for a couple of days back at our home…" Nepgear sadly looks to the ground while still holding Neptune down.

"No matter, Gearsy. I'm sure we'll find a way to get you all back home. With my help, I'm sure we'll be able to do this in no time." Umio reassured her. Nepgear eventually let go of Neptune, and when she let go of her, Neptune was gasping for air.

"Yeah, he's right! Gearsy, Nepsy, Naofumi, Raphtalia, and Filo, we'll get you back home, safe and sound! Isn't that great?!" Oh boy, her high-pitched voice is starting to come out again. "Getting you all back home as you all wave back to me with tears in everyone's eyes… this is starting to get sad now! Uzume's starting to tear up just thinking about!" We all looked at each other nervously as we heard her continue to talk. Getting back home, huh? Is that… something that I would want? What home am I even going to, anyway? Japan? Or… that shithole?

"Uzume… ahem." Producing a fake cough, Umio was trying to get Uzume back to her original self.

"Oh?! A-ahem! So, when we find a way to get you all home, I was saying that I'd rather hear something like "I'll be back" or something like that. That'll be the coolest goodbye ever, right? Well, it technically wouldn't be a goodbye if you're coming back one day, but that's cool, right?" Okay, is there something that's causing her to switch her personalities? There can't be a switch, right? First, she acts all cute in a way, then, she's back to thinking everything is "cool". What on Earth is the matter with you, Uzume?

"T-thank you, Uzume. Now, I would like to have a discussion on future strategies to attack the "titan". Is that okay with everyone?" We all looked at each other and backed to Umio. "Okay, I don't see anyone objecting, so we shall begin the strategy meeting. Now then, Uzume, before you and everyone saved me, I'd received a call informing me of a place to gather more share crystals. I wasn't… cautious enough to realize that I was being followed by a monster, and to that, I apologize." As if he was bowing, Umio's… face lowered to the ground.

"Hey, no worries, Umio! As long as you're safe, then everything's cool! Besides, the Baby Bugs and Dogoos were able to tell us your location, so you should thank them too!" Umio could only look at Uzume with a smile.

"Thank you, Uzume. If you weren't around as the only CPU in this world, then I wouldn't know what to do. Wait, I'm sorry, Neptune and Nepgear, didn't you two say that you were CPUs as well?" Neptune and Nepgear nodded to his question. "I see… and what about you, Naofumi and Raphtalia? While I do know you two came from another dimension, I don't know that much about you two." Raphtalia smiled sadly and I crossed my arms.

"I think it would be better if you don't know about us. You might not take my word for granted, but just know you can trust us…" I specifically didn't want them to know about… that other world. They don't need to know that much about us, the only thing they would need to know is that we're on their side…

"I'm sorry. If you feel insulted, then please, forgive me. It is not the matter if I don't trust you two or not, I just wanted to know if you two had CPUs in your world as well." Umio bowed again.

"Don't worry about it! It's just that… we're not comfortable talking about our pasts like this. You don't have to apologize, Umio. We don't have CPUs in our world, either. What's more important than us, is that we take that thing down, right?" I wouldn't call it "uncomfortable", but I guess Raphtalia's right to an extent. I shouldn't push my past to these people. While they aren't bad people, I just… don't want to tell them, that's all.

"...If that is alright with you two, then. Okay, back into pressing matters, Uzume, it'll be good if we restock just in case of future fights. Furthermore, I can surmise that we can find more in the location information that has been given to me."

"Yeah, you're probably right, Umio. Let me go see how much we have left before we leave, okay?" With that, Uzume left us to go and see how many of those crystals she had left.

"...She's energetic, isn't she?" Umio asked after she left.

"I'd say! One moment she's acting all cutesy and stuff, and in another, she's back to her original self in a second! Is this what they call bipolar?!" I will agree with everything Neptune said, but not the last part.

"Well… would you all believe me if I said that her CPU form is actually her original self?" With how everyone was looking at him… he could probably guess that we don't. Shock wasn't something I would call my look… it would be confusion. "Indeed. When I first met her, she was… cheerful. Earnest, and liking cute things, she was like any other girl that you would regularly meet. However, as she was, we couldn't rely on her to save everyone. And so, as this world crumbled bit by bit, Uzume's personality and speech started to change. I know you all are confused by her 'cool personality', and to that, I can only say that she must think that acting cool is reliable. She has… suffered a lot in this world. I would like for her to return to how she once was, but I'm afraid I'm too late for that. I can only hope that when everything's over, she might not push herself as she is, right now…"

"To think… Uzume was originally like the way she acts in her CPU form… that's sad. I can't imagine how she could've been feeling when she realized that everything-"

"Was going to shit, right?" I finished for her. And to that, Nepgear looked at me with confused eyes.

"Brrr! Why did the atmosphere suddenly drop all of a sudden?" Ignoring Neptune, Nepgear looked at me.

"...Basically. To think that someone can change so drastically. I mean, one's personality shouldn't change so easily without… experiencing something that can cause a change in their minds. It's sad to hear that Uzume easily started to adapt to this world…" "Shouldn't change so easily", huh? Yeah… it shouldn't. Everything about Uzume that I said to her… was it true?

"Hey guys, I'm back! Did I miss anything? Umio, you'd better not have told them something embarrassing!" Hearing her, everyone played it off as if we weren't talking about her, to begin with.

"O-of course not, Uzume! I know how you feel about dealing with embarrassment! I was just filling them in with the information of our "plan"!" Well, it was a nice cover-up, but now I'm a bit interested in this… "plan".

"Oh, you mean the one that could lead us to victory? Yeah, with all of those battles, I didn't really expect it to be weak to share energy. Striking it with share energy on a single point only does little effect! That's why we planned to capture it into a barrier with HUGE amounts of Share Energy! For that, we're going to need a lot of share crystals!" Okay, I still don't know what these Share Crystals do, other than transforming her into a whole different person. I guess I should probably check the menu, then?

_Naofumi Iwatani: Level 14 _

_Hp: 25689_

_Sp: 500_

_Until Next Level: 768_

_Items _

_Skills _

_Equipment_

_Party _

_Status _

_Library _

Wait just a second! The menu changed?! Since when did the menu change into this kind of format?! Calm down, Naofumi. This is a new world, so the system just has to be different. I can see everyone's names that are in the party, including Filo and Umio, but that's just the normal format. Why the hell did it change into something more different like this? Okay, when we get back from this next journey, I should probably look for some things in the shop. Who knows? I might be able to find something useful that could help me fight the titan?

Because… as I am right now… I won't be able to put a scratch on that thing…

* * *

"Jeez, how can this place be so… so… beautiful?!" Arriving at the location, Neptune could only look around to see how beautiful this place was. This… these trees… they kind of remind me of Sakura Trees.

"Well, Nepsy, if you didn't know, this place looks like this because this is where most Share Crystals resides." Hearing him, Neptune and Nepgear turned to look at him as the rest of us continued to look around. However, I chose to stay around to see what they were talking about.

"Huh? And why's that?" Neptune tilted her head to the side as a sign of confusion.

"Well, look around, Nepsy. You see that this place as beautiful as it is, but that is for the reason that Share Crystals are residing here. Before we came here, everything was crumbled and lifeless, correct? Well, I personally believe that is because not that many Share Crystals had been found out there, compared to this location." Nepgear was starting to pick up from what he said while Neptune was still confused.

"So… the Share Crystals are the only source of life that is given to this location? If that's the case… then because of CPUs, they are the only thing that gives life to the world!" Umio nodded his head after Nepgear finished. From what I can understand, this… Share Energy gives life to the world. However, I still don't understand how Share Energy is created or developed.

"That correlates to my theory, Nepgear, thank you. Indeed, because of a CPU's power, it gives life to those that are being within the range of their protection. From ancient texts, Gamindustri exists because of the sole power of the CPUs."

"Oh, why didn't you just say that, then?! It's just like how Planeptune works! My people wouldn't be able to do anything without me in my nation!" What? She's… joking right? She has… people who follow her? I can… I can only feel bad for the people who are under her care…

"Also stated in the ancient texts, the source of the CPUs' power comes from the faith of their people. If this world bears no human population, a CPU wouldn't be able to fight at their full potential. Now, here's my theory: the Share Crystals that's been scattered across this land, are from the people who once lived here. Without the CPUs' power, then the world is basically… lifeless…" "From the faith of their people"? So… their power comes from their own people? As long as people have faith in them, they have the power they need to have the world continue to live on? Faith… faith… faith…

"Naofumi, is something the matter?" Jumping a bit, Raphtalia and Filo were behind me, and they gave me confused expressions. "Naofumi, are you okay?"

"Gwah?" I guess that's Filo's way of asking "are you okay?".

"Y-yeah, you just scared me, that's all. Anyway, how's Uzume doing?" I had to shake the fright out of my system to talk to her normally…

"Uzume didn't like how we were taking too long so she decided to go on ahead and kill some monsters." Looking for Uzume, all I could see was a trail of dead corpses from the monsters. Some were those pipe things, and some of them were cats? What the hell? All of a sudden, soon after I noticed them, they disappeared. It looks like I waited too long…

"So, the question is: if Uzume is the CPU of this nation, why do you think this nation is still perishing?" As I heard Neptune, Nepgear, and Umio began to walk to where Uzume was continuing to take down monsters. Hearing none of them respond, I could only guess that they didn't know either. "Well, since Uzume is dependant on using Share Crystals to transform, I began to believe that the world hasn't accepted Uzume as this nation's CPU."

"No 'effing way! That can't be true! If that's not the case, then how can she transform?! If she wasn't accepted, then how is the Share Crystals accepting her to transform?!" Neptune was basically calling bullcrap to all of that…

"Well, I suppose you are correct, Neptune. Since you are a CPU of your very own nation, you know more about this information than me. However, even if Uzume is a CPU, she is still not the CPU of this nation. And for that, this nation will soon perish… and turn into nothing." Everyone looked at each other because they knew he was right…

"If anything… this world wouldn't be called Gamindustri. With nothing beyond these landscapes and mountains… this world… would soon be called the Zero Dimension…" On basic terms…

This world will soon meet its end…

* * *

_Sakura Shield: _

_Def: +50 _

_Ability: Sakura Storm:_

_Produces a storm of Sakura Petals from the Sakura Shield around the enemy, and all that are within the storm take non-elemental damage. _

_SP Reduction 1_

"Sakura Shield, huh?" Plus fifty to my natural defense, huh? And its ability… to create a Sakura Storm? It sounds good, but it reduces my SP from five-hundred to four-hundred. I hope it doesn't use up a whole lot of my SP. And about my defense.. I didn't see it on the menu, so I guess I have to check the equipment I'm wearing then. After grabbing a petal that had fallen from the tree, I absorbed it into my shield. These really are Sakura Trees, huh? I remember back in Japan, that there was this huge row of Sakura Trees when I'm heading to college…

"Hey, Naofumi, you never told me what that shield can do. Why don't you have…you know, an actual weapon?" Uzume, if only you knew about the curse that's been put onto me…

"It's a long story, but all I can tell you is that I was cursed with this shield. If you want to know what it does, it absorbs the materials from fallen enemies and even from natural items too. After absorbing them, I can change the shield into anything that goes with those properties." Everyone besides Raphtalia had their interest piqued.

"Really? So, if I gave you a part of my Megaphone, then will your shield turn into a megaphone?"

"Think Naofumi, think! A pudding shield would be the best shield!" With Neptune in my face, I was holding her back with my right hand. For what reason would I want to make a pudding shield? I'm sure as hell won't be doing it for her, that's for sure.

"Okay, okay, that's enough of that, everyone. We should be focusing on trying to find these Share Crystals. We haven't found a single one as of lately… and that's odd." While we were walking a bit of distance to find one of these Share Crystals, not a single one has popped up. I agree with Umio… it is odd.

"You're right, Umio. Where the hell are these damn crystals?! We've been pounding monsters left and right, but we haven't found a single Share Crystal! And the funny part is that they aren't even strong!" As Uzume was starting to lose her temper a bit, I found that the surplus of enemies in this area is odd. While they did help us level up as we are all now level 17, there's a bunch of them everywhere. As we took a break for a while, I don't see any monsters coming to get us. They were easy to take down with Uzume and everyone else here, but for how long will that last? Well, there was a giant thing called the Argo Deus who looked strong, but it didn't pack that much of a punch. The shield that I've gotten after absorbing it… was odd. It sacrifices HP for attack, and the less HP you have, the stronger it gets. That ability is called the Deus Beam. I don't think I would want to use a shield like that unless it's necessary...

"Uzume, behind you!" Hearing Nepgear's cry, we all turned to see a blue weirdo riding on top of a paper airplane.

"A sneak attack? Tch, this guy might have some-"

"Gwah!" As we prepared ourselves to fight the weirdo, he was sent flying into the nearest wall. Based on who made that sound…

"Filo?!" Raphtalia was the first to speak out of everyone's shock. Looking at Filo, we can see her standing proudly as I would say after she kicked that weirdo. Yeah, I'm not absorbing that weirdo's remains… that'll just be too weird for me.

"Good job, Filo! You put on a very nice form into that kick, too! Now that's cool!" As Uzume began to pet Filo, she only made her signature chirp in response. Well, at least… Filo's beginning to learn how to fight?

"That bird gots some strong feet! With the amount she traveled, who knows how much power she has in those legs! I wonder… if we cook her, then will she make our feet strong?!" I immediately smacked Neptune on the head after she said that. Filo didn't hear it, and I'm glad.

"Neptune, you shouldn't be rude to Filo. Filo is… she has her own feelings." I couldn't say that any better than that, Nepgear…

"Hey, Nepsy, Gearsy! I've thought of a cool idea!" Before Neptune could say anything, Uzume called out to them.

"Wassup, Uzume? Does this plan involve some kind of plan that helps us find these Share Crystals faster?" Neptune asked with a bump on her head. Strangely, I don't see Umio around. Where on Earth did he go?

"No, but it might be something better! Now, remember that you both said that you two are CPUs? Well, if that's the case, then how about we share them? You two can use some of the Share Crystals I stocked up on!" In response, Neptune looked upbeat all of a sudden.

"As much as we want to, we can't, Uzume. We don't get Share Energy from those crystals." Neptune replied.

"Aw, that's a-"

"Uzume! We managed to find the Share Crystal!" Hearing Umio's voice, we turned to where he was, which was straight ahead of us. Not only him, but several of those slimes were with him too. And they… are colored differently too. Black, pink, blue, the list goes on. Anyway, they dropped the crystal that was on their backs and come towards us.

"Nice job, Umio! It's so huge! With this, we'll definitely take down that giant! I can feel it… the amount of Share Energy that's generated into this thing is amazing! Thank you all for your help!" Uzume knelt down to all of them and started to pet them individually. Well, I guess we can all thank Umio for finding these slimes to help out then. I thought an enemy just-

"Gwah!" Filo's scream managed to bring my gaze towards her. Next to her, was Raphtalia, who had her hand on the hilt of her sword and was ready to fight…

"Show yourself! I don't know how you were able to do it, but no more hiding! You were careless enough to make a sound that allowed me to hear you!" I don't know what Raphtalia's talking about, but I'm guessing it involves "hearing". If Raphtalia and Filo are acting like this, then that means that someone was following us. I'm just glad that Raphtalia and Filo have enhanced hearing…

"Hmph! It looks like I underestimated the two of you animals. Looks like I'm going to have to put you two down first!" All of a sudden, the ground started to shake…

"No! This… can't be!" As the ground started to shake, Uzume easily knew what was the cause of the shaking…

It was here.

The titan.

"**GRAGHHHHH!" **I didn't know it could scream, let alone have the ability to talk!

"N-no way! Why did show up here of all times!" Nepgear was scared beyond belief. With the titan being this close to us, who wouldn't be? This thing had the power to eradicate anything and anyone it wants!

"Heh, it doesn't matter! We've got the power, right here! With this Share Crystal, we'll be able to crush that damn giant! Nepsy, Gearsy, Naofumi, Raphtalia! Give me a hand, will ya?!" With the Share Crystal in her hand, we'll be able to defeat the titan. I don't know how much of a help I'll be to them, but I'm not going to sit this one out. If I can at least do some damage to it, then we have a chance! With this fight, we'll end-

"Wait, everyone! The person I heard was someone-"

_Crack! _What? What just happened?! What happened to the Share Crystal?! Looking at the crystal that shattered in Uzume's hand, I can see traces of dark magic coming from its shattered pieces.

"What?! Who the hell-who's out there?!" Angry beyond belief, Uzume looked around to see who was responsible for destroying the Share Crystal. Damn it! Our only way of fighting this damn thing is destroyed! Without the Share Crystal, how the hell are Uzume, Neptune, and Nepgear going to fight?! If they have that weird transformation thing, then how can they fight without their full potential?

Wait… full potential!

"No… someone… destroyed it?!" Nepgear cried.

"If I 'outta-hey! Who's out there waiting for a Nepping Knuckle Sandwich?! I just made this up, but you're going to be the first victim!" With the way she sounds, I can't even tell if she's angry or not…

"Ha! What's the matter? I destroyed your precious crystal, and all everyone can do is threaten me? Let's see if you all have some power behind your words!" In the corner of my eye, I saw something heading right towards my head. Responded accordingly, I raised my shield to deflect the attack. Moving back a bit to see if I could find anyone around us, I couldn't find anyone. Coming from behind the trees in front of me, it revealed... an old hag. That's all I could say for what she looks… she's just an old hag.

"Arfoire?!" Neptune and Nepgear both screamed out. So, what? Do they actually know this person?

"Oh? I see that you know of my power. Allow me to introduce myself to everyone else, then! I am Arfoire-"

"Yeah, we already heard your name already!" I shouted to cut her off. This wasn't good; with her and this damn titan to deal with, this might actually be a problem to all of us…

"Rude-oh? I see… it's you. Hmph! Oh well, it doesn't matter! I will destroy you all, here and now! With that pathetic scheme that you all had failing, there's no hope for any of you! Dark CPU! Annihilate every single one of these insolent brats!" Wait, did she recognize me? And also, did she just say Dark CPU?! That thing's a CPU?! Before any of us could move, the entire floor around us was covered in dark magic. No… I can't allow that to me! I was already out because of one attack, so who knows what this one might do this close to me! Wait… it's like some sort of timer, right? However, I won't be able to get everyone out of the way because we're all separated like this! With Raphtalia and Filo a bit close to the others, I won't be able to protect all of us!

"Naofumi!" Raphtalia yelled out. I don't have much time! It's now or never!

"Pipe Shield!" I hope this works, damn it! "Shield Prison!" No, it has to work! I'm the Shield Hero, so I have to protect them! It doesn't matter how many blows I take, I have to protect my team! That's what the Shield Hero is supposed to do!

Protect everyone at all costs…!

_Boom!_ As everyone, including the monsters, were in the Shield Prison, the ground below blew up, releasing a full wave of dark magic to explode right under me...

Even if it costs his own life…

"_**Kukuku, do you want power, Naofumi Iwatani…?" **_

* * *

…

…

…

…

…

"Nao…"

"...fumi!"

Opening my eyes to reveal blue darkness… I could see someone standing above me. When they knelt down, I could see that this person was a woman. I couldn't see their face, I could see only one thing: their smile. But… something about that smile wasn't normal. That smile… was _anything _but normal. From the way it looks down at me… it reminds me of someone. Someone who shouldn't be named, someone who I hated a lot, someone… who should just die!

"_**Then hate her…" **_Suddenly, memories of the other world started to record its way back into my head. Memories of my rage, memories of the trash king, memories of the other Heroes, memories of everyone looking down on me…

Memories of that damn bitch…!

When their smile turned manically, they raised their hand towards my face to cover my vision, with my hand, I swatted it away. No, I swatted everything away from me.

"You damn bitch!"

"Bitch? Is that something you should say to someone who wanted to know if you're okay or not? And why did you swat my hand like that? Do you truly hate me, Naofumi?" After blinking once, no longer was I surrounded by the blue darkness. Instead… I was somewhere I didn't know. Sitting up a bit, the person in front of me backed off a bit.

"Where… am I?" Looking around, I could see debris floating around the sky like we were out in space. No… those weren't rocks, they were platforms!

"I don't know what happened, Naofumi, but you were able to survive that attack head-on. Not only that, but you protected everyone from that attack. Thank you, Naofumi. Without you, I don't think any one of us would've survived that attack." Looking to my side, I could see… a purple-haired… woman. She's wearing something similar to Uzume when she transforms…

"Ah! I'm hurt, Naofumi! To think that you would easily forget someone such as me! I guess this body does make people confused, after all. Now then, do you still think I'm a loli, Newbie?" When she said loli, my eyes widened.

"Neptune?! What the hell is that?!" Neptune, who was in her transformed state could only giggle.

"My, I didn't think I would get this reaction from you, Naofumi. Now then, now that you're up, I need to defeat that monster. You don't look to be harmed, but can you still help us? Uzume, Nepgear, and Raphtalia are already fighting without us. We're going to need all the support we can get." Behind Neptune, was that titan from earlier. As the titan was in the middle of what seemed to be an arena, I could see platforms surrounding them.

"So, this is it, huh? The final boss as you would say?" As I was mocking her, she only giggled in return.

"Well, that _would _be something I would say in my normal state of mind, but when I'm transformed, I become… a whole lot more different than I just was. You can tell with my non-loli form, right?" I don't know if it was true or not that she actually changed, but I can tell one thing: she's turned into a full-grown woman.

"No, it doesn't matter what you look like, you will still be a loli. I don't trust women so easily, just so you know." When I was in that blue abyss, that bitch was there… standing right over me. I don't know if it's the anger to that bitch that makes me upset, but all I know is that I have some anger to let out. Whoever forced me to watch all of those memories is going to be someone who will taste my damn wrath! But first… that titan is going to be the first victim to this pent-up rage. Standing back up, I changed my shield into the Sakura Shield.

"Really now? You don't trust women? I wonder why that is, Naofumi? Then, I guess we're going to have a personal chat with everyone when all of this is over, correct?" Standing beside me, she raised a purple and black sword.

"When everything's over… _then _we'll talk. As you are right now, I'm starting to become a bit angry. Could you turn that form off?" As I kind of meant that as a joke, my anger wasn't. Why was it now that I'm experiencing rage towards women again? Is it because of Neptune? No, she's just a damn loli!

"No can do, Naofumi. In this form, I'm Neptune, the CPU of Planeptune! Without this form, I wouldn't be able to fight and protect everyone, you know? And if I can't protect the person who protected me, then, what kind of CPU am I?" After saying that, she started to float in the sky, but not before she lent me her arm. "Now, would you please lend us your strength, Naofumi? Or should I say Newbie?" When she smiled, I could only sigh. When I looked back up at her, I could see her normal loli state hovering over with a stupid grin on her face.

Yeah… she's just a damn loli, after all. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." Taking her hand, we flew off onto a platform to begin our final fight.

Right?


	6. Chapter 6

"Naofumi!" With Neptune holding my hand, we flew towards the battlefield. Overjoyed that I was alright, Raphtlia screamed my name in happiness.

"Be careful you two. While this is the last battle, make no mistake. This shall be the victory that everyone here wants… for the world, and for Gamindustri!" Dropping me off on the same platform as Raphtalia, Neptune flew off to meet up with Nepgear. Like Uzume, her personality changed… for the better.

"You heard her, Raphtalia. Let's take this titan down! Sakura Storm!" With Sakura petals starting to surround the titan, a pink storm started to form around it, damaging it instantly. I can only hope that it did some damage towards it.

"Yes! I'm with you! Light's-" Before she was able to use her attack, coming from the Sakura Storm, was the titan's hand coming straight towards us, almost as if it was going to punch us. What?! She can still move while that move is going on?!

"No, you don't! M.P.B.L!" Before the hand was about to swing at us, a laser beam had shot the titan's arm, making it retract its arm. It didn't make any sounds of agony, so I can't tell if it's hurt or not.

"Naofumi, Raphtalia! Are you two okay?!" Flying close to us, Nepgear, who was in a similar outfit like Uzume and Neptune, but it was white and purple, asked to see if we were okay. Unlike Neptune and Uzume, it doesn't look like Nepgear changes that much.

"Yeah! Thanks for the save! Any idea as to how we can defeat this thing?!" I shouted, asking if she knew any weak points. As a response, Nepgear only shook her head.

"No, I can't really think of anything!" Shooting another laser beam at the titan as it tried to swing at Uzume, she answered with a bit of frustration in her voice. Great, we have the firepower of Uzume, Nepgear, and Neptune here, but what about a weakness?

"Cross Combination!" Neptune started to attack the titan's wings which caused it to fly, but because there was a metal clanging coming after that, I don't think that does anything. Okay, think Naofumi. The goal before was to get a Share Crystal and use it for Uzume's plan. Her plan was to trap that thing into this… whatever this thing was, right?

"Dream Roarrrrrr!" Screaming into her megaphone, Uzume shouts out soundwaves to the titan, but it doesn't look like it's doing anything! At this point, all they're doing is wasting their energy! Wait… Uzume said that the titan was weak to Share Energy… meaning that if they have Share Energy, then that means they can take it down easily. But… that's only in the case of a CPU! And… based on that woman said before… this titan _is _a CPU! Well, a Dark CPU in her form of words…

"Naofumi, what should we do?" Looking back at Raphtalia, I could only think of nothing. While Neptune, Nepgear, and Uzume fight the titan with all of their energy, we can't do anything! Because these platforms aren't close to the titan, we won't be able to attack it physically, only with magic and etc. But, there's something I'm missing here, right? There has to be a reason why we aren't doing any damage to it!

"Bit Shield! Sphere!" Changing to the Bit Shield, which was the shield that comes from that 8-Bit robot thing, I cast dark magic at the titan. As it surrounded its chest, the sphere looked like it was doing some damage to it… maybe?

"Naofumi, look out!" Uzume shouted, which alarmed me. As Sphere was still going on, the titan directed its attention towards me and Raphtalia once again. But this time, there was a sphere of her own that was being created. Not only that, but the sphere that I used was starting to get sucked into the titan's own sphere! This can't be good!

"Damn it! Light Metal Shield!" I don't know how much damage we'll take with the Light Metal Shield, but-

"Stop standing around, Naofumi!" As the second passed, I felt someone tugged on my body to get me out of the way. As that happened, the titan released its dark magic at the platform we were standing on, destroying it instantly. That… we would've been destroyed if- wait, Raphtalia!

"Where's Raphtalia?!" I panicked, not noticing Raphtalia anywhere. While I didn't notice it at first, I was hovering in the sky. Looking back to see who was holding me, I see Neptune looking at me with a disapproving look.

"I got her!" Looking to my left to see Nepgear holding onto Raphtalia, I breathed out a sigh.

"That was dangerous, Naofumi! Have you not learned from previous attacks from the titan that you shouldn't take it lightly?! You were sitting there like an open target!" Neptune lectured with a raised voice. Getting lectured by Neptune of all people didn't exactly sit right with me, though…

"What do you want me to do?! I can't fly like the three of you! We're not CPUs, either! We're trying our best to attack it, but all of our attacks are-"

"Then the both of you will sit this fight out. Uzume, Nepgear, and I will take this fight, Naofumi. I'm not going to risk the lives of two mortals in this fight…" I gritted my teeth as I knew that I wasn't of any help. While I was only Human, I won't be able to do anything to a being like this. As we talked like this, Uzume was stalling the titan by just flying around it. It was slow, so the attacks won't be able to catch up with Uzume because of her speed.

"Wait, we can still help, Neptune! We just need to think of a weak-"

"Raphtalia, my decision is final. If the two of you happened to have even a scratch on you, then who's responsibility will that turn to? No, not even a scratch, but if the two of you happened to… be gone for good, then I failed as a CPU! Nepgear, let's take them to-"

"Have you ever thought of a weakness, yet? All of us had been attacking this thing for some time now, and I don't see any sign of it letting up. Now, tell me, Neptune, do you have a plan to attack this damn titan?!" She only looked at me with uncertainty in her eyes. "That's what I thought. Now, even if we're somewhere safe, what if the three of you so happen to run out of energy? Not only will you not be able to-"

"We'll take this thing down, Naofumi, just-"

"No, listen to me, Neptune! Sure, you can change your appearance and become a bit more mature than your idiotic little self, but there's one thing that I've noticed since the moment I met you: cockiness," She had no response. "If you don't fix that cockiness of yours, then you'll just be someone who can't do anything to that thing… like me." To that, Neptune only sighed.

"...All right then, Naofumi. Tell me if _you _have something in mind to take the thing down…" Looking all over the titan's body, I didn't see any signs of potential weaknesses. Everywhere on its body was covered in black and purple armor. Wait… except for that thing at its chest! I don't know what that is, but it's floating in front of its chest without armor surrounding it!

"...That thing at its chest. It's not surrounded by any sort of armor, so it's worth a shot to attack it…" Seeing the core-like thing at its chest, Neptune smiled.

"Of course, why haven't I thought of that? Nepgear, Uzume! Attack its core at its chest!" Hearing her, Nepgear nodded her head while Uzume continued to stall it.

"Okay, Nepsy! I'll be sure to give a good beating!" As Uzume flew away from the titan and into the sky, she was ready to attack the titan. In response to this, the titan started to fire up that dark sphere from before and was about to send it out to Uzume.

"I can't use my sword while holding you, so I guess I have to use another ability, then. 32-Bit Mega Blade!" Raising her hand, a sword magically formed above us. Okay… what made this CPU different than Neptune, Nepgear, and Uzume? Dark CPU… what's the difference? It has dark magic, but does that make a difference? More importantly… will their attacks be enough to take it down? Weak to Share Energy… so what exactly could that mean, while it was a CPU as well? Unless…

"...Neptune, use everything you got into this attack! If it's weak to Share Energy, then attacking the core with that energy will be enough to destroy it! Use every amount of Share Energy you've got in your body!" Chuckling a bit, Neptune made some more of those magical swords.

"I do hope you're right, Naofumi. This is everything I have left in my body!" With the number of swords that had been formed, I guess that will be enough. Four swords, huh? If this is all she has… then it has to work. Looking at Raphtalia and Nepgear, I see Nepgear holding onto Raphtalia's waist while she was storing in some energy into her gun blade.

"Here I go, everyone! Dream Smash Fist!" As she flew down to the titan's core, the titan had launched its attack towards Uzume.

"Uzume, don't get close to it!" I shouted, but as soon as I said that, Uzume flew to the left of the sphere, dodging it completely.

"Eat… this!" As Uzume flew closer to the titan, she put away her megaphone… somewhere, and with her fist being used as a drill, she smashed her fist into the core of the titan, causing it to scream out in agony.

"32-Bit Mega Blades! Launch!"

"M.P.B.L!" As their attacks had been sent out to the titan, each attack had pierced the core of the titan with the blades exploding after they pierced it, causing it to scream out again. But this time, it was starting to go down… wait, it worked?! The attacks worked?!

"Ugh…" Hearing Neptune groan a bit, I noticed that we're starting to fall down into the abyss where we were flying over. Crap, I forgot that I told her to use everything she had into those attacks…

"Nept-" Before I could scream out her name, my face was pulled into something soft.

"I… got… you…" As we were falling, my face had been buried into her chest as she was trying to take the damage instead of me. Is she crazy?! Bringing my head out of her chest, I quickly changed my shield into the Rope Shield. After that, I wrapped my free arm around Neptune's waist and used the rope ability and sent out the rope to hopefully latch onto something, but since we're so far down, it won't be able to wrap itself onto anything!

Until I felt something grab onto it…

"I got you, Naofumi!" Looking up, I can see Raphtalia holding onto the rope with Nepgear carrying her. Great… we were able to beat it. We… took down the titan…

And then, a bright light surrounded us…

* * *

"We… did it? Did we… beat up that big meanie?" As if it was all a dream, we were back at the forest that had Sakura Trees surrounding us everywhere. This must have been Uzume's doing, right? That was the "plan" that Uzume and Umio created to defeat this titan, right? And… because of that plan… we won.

"It… appears so, Uzume. I'm just… glad that thing's done and gone..." Responding with a huffed voice, Neptune stood back up, but not without looking exhausted. After saying that, a bright light flashed over Neptune, which then revealed the miniature Neptune I'm used to. "Man, that was tough! Someone, get the pudding because I'm… exhausted!" Yeah, back to the annoying little brat that I know. Looking around, I could see everyone was okay. Raphtalia, Filo, Nepgear, Umio, and Uzume, everyone was here and okay. However, the fight had managed to make them exhausted.

"No! This… this can't be! How could the Dark CPU fail to destroy all of you?!" if everyone was here, then that means that old hag is here too. And by the sounds of it, we just ruined her day.

"It seems that even with the giant's power, you weren't able to defeat us all, Arfoire. With everyone here as our source of strength, there's no possible way of this fight being our loss." Arfoire only gritted her teeth and glared at Umio.

"Insolent fish! Do you think that this will stop me?! You might've dealt with the Dark CPU, but I am still here and alive! I'll be sure to kill each and every one of you in this opportunity the Dark CPU granted me!" Summoning her staff from out of nowhere, she was ready to finish us off. To this, I only smirked at her.

"And you… what's so funny?" Why she's referring me like that, I don't know, and frankly, I don't care.

"Did you really think we would just allow ourselves to just sit back and wait for our deaths? You wouldn't know about this shield's capabilities, but I can tell you one thing: I don't go start a fight without preparing myself for the worst to come…" I'm not like the other brain-dead Heroes who would just fight without planning ahead. To be honest, I didn't think that we would possibly be fighting someone else after we took down the titan. She hid well if she didn't want us to know that she's the titan's backup, but I digress, looking down on me was the biggest mistake anyone could make!

"Naofumi… wait, we still have some of those potions that Naofumi made for us!" Nepgear exclaimed while bringing out two potions. That's right. Shortly before leaving, I made sure to create some healing and SP potions just in case we had our backs against the wall. With some time and the Small Medicine Shield, I was able to use some of the Healing Grass and SP Chargers we found during our journeys and created some potions of my own. It wasn't the first time since I made some potions before we left to go back to the city that one time...

"Haha! Even if Newbie doesn't do that much with his shield, he's able to make up some potions for the perfect moment! That, my friends, is called coincide-"

"Nepsy, this isn't the time for jokes, right now…" As Uzume began to drink the SP potion, she managed to quiet Neptune. Whatever she has to say, I don't want to hear it. It anything, it's going to be some random fourth-no, I cannot be brought into her antics!

"Damn you! It doesn't matter if you all have some potions, I will still reign victorious!" Hmph! Even with all of us against her, she still thinks that she would be able to kill us! We managed to take down a titan, and she thinks that we aren't strong enough to take her! After everyone drank their potions, Neptune, Uzume, and Nepgear transformed on the spot.

"This… this potion! It's almost as if I hadn't lost any power, to begin with! I... with this, I'll be able to take you down, Arfoire, just like I did before!" "Before"? What does Nepgear mean by that? Anyway, with everyone having their potions drank and gone, we're back into the fight!

"Strange, I didn't think of you to be the type of "standing their ground until the end", Arfoire. Most villains would just be retreating and telling us that you'll be back one day to finish us off." Even while Neptune was in her transformed state, she still manages to make jokes like this.

"Hmph! Who do you think I am? Running away? Don't look down on me just because you've changed your appearance! I can't fail here! I... can't… fail here!" What the hell is wrong with her? Why did she sound so… hesitant when she said that? The hell is she hiding?

"No, you _will _fail here, Arfoire! Even in our world, even with all the destruction you've caused, it always ended with you failing!" With her gun blade raised, Nepgear was ready to finish this, here and now. With this fight… everything will end. Uzume's world will become peaceful once again, and Neptune and Nepgear will go back home. But… what will happen to Raphtalia and me? No, now's not the time to worry about that stuff right now. All that mattered was this fight and-

But before anyone could move, there was something beginning to form behind the old hag. By the looks of it… it looked almost similar to the vortex that brought Raphtalia, Filo, and I here…

"What?! No, I'm not finished yet! I can still go on! I don't need the Dark CPU's power to get rid of these mutts!" As it began to form more and more, Arfoire was starting to get sucked into the vortex. "I swear to you all that this won't be the last time you see me! I will have my revenge, and destroy Gamindustri!" With those final words, Arfoire had gotten sucked into the vortex.

"Huh, I guess she really _is _the type to say those things to us. No matter, even if she returns, we will still defeat her without any problems!" I would like to say that her joke wasn't needed… but I guess it was necessary… just this once.

"Whew~! We managed to defeat the big meanie's butt! Hurray for us!" Everyone went to Uzume to celebrate their latest victory. Well, everyone besides Raphtalia and myself.

"We… won, Naofumi…" I've noticed a hint of sadness in her voice when she said that. If that didn't tell me that she was sad, her droopy ears was a second guess...

"What's wrong, Raphtalia? We won, but you're looking down in the dumps." Raphtalia laughed a bit, but closed her mouth and looked to the ground.

"What happens to us now, Naofumi? We defeated that monster, but… why does it feel like everything feels so… lost to me? Are we… going back to the world we came from? Where everyone hated us, where everyone treated like you were the-" To silence her, I put my hand on her head.

"It doesn't matter, Raphtalia. I… don't want to go back to that world where everyone hates the Shield Hero. Not only will my life become a living hell, but-"

"I didn't put in much thought into this before, but what about the lives of the people in Melromarc? I'm talking about the people that are worth saving, Naofumi. We can't… we can't just abandon them…" Thinking back to the blacksmith that helped Raphtalia and me, I could only close my eyes. I'm… sure that he'll be alright. I mean, even without the Shield Hero, I'm sure that everyone will still be okay… right? Who am I kidding? With those idiots back there, many people will die because of their idiocy. But… this is the freedom that I've wanted for a long time… I can't just abandon this freedom.

"They'll be fine, Raphtalia. We don't have to worry about looking down on anymore, Raphtalia. Because this is a new world, we don't have to worry about people treating us like we're some sort of monsters. Let's just enjoy all the freedom we have here, Raphtalia." She looked reluctant, but she nodded her head.

"Okay, Naofumi… I'll follow you wherever you go." I don't know why she's thinking about those people in the first place. If they die… then they die. It doesn't matter if they were innocent or not. Raphtalia was treated unfairly because she was a slave and a Demi-Human. I don't even know if she even had happiness in her life, to begin with! Being a slave is never easy, to begin with! To go back and save people that allow racism and slavery would just be a waste of my time. They'll soon continue to listen to that bitch's words and continue to resent Raphtalia and I. I'm not abandoning this freedom for a long shot. If that world continues to hate me, then fine, you don't have me to protect anyone anymore, then. Good riddance.

For Raphtalia's happiness and freedom from that world… I'll abandon that world altogether.

* * *

Was it a day? I don't know, but a day had passed since then. I can say that because we decided to sleep the moment we got back to Uzume's base. Even with the titan's disappearance, I still can't tell if it was morning or night. With no watches and clocks working in this world, I can't even tell how long we've been here. Let's just say that it had been a few days then…

"Umio… what is this place?" Uzume asked as she looked at her surroundings which were a bunch of high-tech equipment, pillars, and a… large thing in the middle of the room. Yeah, I can't even tell what that thing was. All I know is that there's a platform in the middle of the room with a yellow light brightening the platform.

"Sorry for the lack of explanation, but this here is a facility that I've found during a stroll while everyone was sleeping. I should've told you all this before bringing you all out after you've all woken up. I was personally excited because I've never noticed this facility to be this close to the base before, Uzume." With Umio smiling, Uzume could only smile back.

"I'd say! It was only a few buildings away from the base! Anyway, is there something you want us to do with this place, Umio? I'm not gonna lie, I don't see any reason as to why you brought us to an empty building…"

"Umio! Do you mind if I take a look around?! This equipment… I need to see what kind of equipment this is!" As if she was asking a parent to buy something, Nepgear was already ecstatic to look around this… facility.

"Err… I don't see why not? I don't know what kind of facility this-"

"Thank you so much, Umio!" Without giving him a chance to speak any further, she sped off to look around the entire place.

"...Your welcome? Anyway, everyone, we should probably find something to do while we wait for Nepgear to finish her discoveries." I knew Nepgear was kind of a like a nerd for technology, I doubt that this was going to take a few minutes to be finished. Raphtalia and Neptune went to see what Nepgear was doing, and Uzume was happily chatting with Umio. So, while she does that, I should probably check out the shop. Since the building wasn't that far, I won't need to bring Filo with me. If anything, I can just leave her with the others.

With the shop not being too far from the facility, I was able to casually walk there without any problems. Now, arriving here, it's time to see some stuff that I missed. There wasn't anyone behind the counter, but there was some sort of terminal in front of the counter. I guess this was a backup plan if anything happened to the person behind the counter…

_Items _

_Equipment_

_Sell _

_Item Synthesis _

That's all that's here? Well, I shouldn't expect anything from a terminal that probably hasn't been changed for a few years. Tapping onto items, I was able to see potions like SP Chargers, Healing Potions, and… Nep Bull? Okay, I don't even want to know what that is. Tapping onto materials, I was able to find interesting materials that can be dropped from the monsters and found all over the place if you check the area briefly. I guess I should buy some monster materials and absorb them into the Legendary Shield, so I can learn some new shields. Saving some of the currency in this world, I had enough to buy at least one of every monster material in the shop. After buying them, a screen showed in front of me that basically told me that my items have been stored into the item menu. Now… weapons. Since I'm the Shield Hero, I shouldn't even be looking into weapons in this terminal. If I come into contact with one weapon that's not a shield in my hands, then it will only shock me in return.

But… since this is a new world… it's worth a shot, right?

Looking at all the weapons you could buy, I could only find swords and megaphones. That's… odd, why are there only two types of weapons in this terminal? I know this was old, but why were there only two weapons here? It should at least have a variety of weapons to buy… so why not? Anyway, buying the weapon… it went into my equipment. Opening the menu, I only stared at it for some time…

_Naofumi Iwatani: Level 20 _

_Items_

_Equipment _

_Party _

_Status _

_Library_

I personally didn't care to look at my stats. I knew they were going to be high because of the Legendary Shield's defense, so I shouldn't even care to look at it. However, I don't think these stats matter because I can just get one-shotted by that damn titan. At least it's finally dead. However, I've noticed the boost in level again. The titan must've been really strong if it made me go all the way to this level.

_Equipment_

Finally opening the equipment menu, I see the weapon that I decided to buy, which was a sword. Because I wanted to save my currency, I bought the weakest sword that was on the list… which was a bamboo sword. Just tapping on it showed the difference of what the sword would do to my stats. Almost everything in my stats would lower by two hundred if I equip the item… but it didn't matter. Because I'm cursed to have this shield, I won't be able to even hold the sword to begin with. While the shield was shown as a secondary weapon, there's no primary weapon equipped.

"Naofumi?" Hearing a familiar voice, I turned to the entrance to see Uzume at the front of the shop. Strange, I don't remember telling her I was going here, but I guess she found me. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm just looking around in the shop. Is there something that you need from me, Uzume?" Looking back at the terminal, I found myself tapping on the sell button to sell the sword that I'd just bought.

"Not in particular. I was just wondering what you were doing in the shop, Naofumi. I don't think I've ever seen you in the shop before…" Taking a few steps into the room, she started to look around the room to find anything to see.

"It's nothing important, Uzume. Is Nepgear done looking around the facility? We should hurry back and-"

"Why are you selling a sword, Naofumi? I thought you could only use a shield…" After feeling a hand on my shoulder, I immediately reacted by slapping the hand away. Seeing her shocked face while she was rubbing her hand, I sighed. Because of this… hatred for women, I accidentally slapped the hand of my partner.

"Yeah… I just wanted to test something out, Uzume. Could you just… wait for me out-"

"Now that I think about it, you responded the same way to Neptune during our fight against the Dark CPU. Is there a reason why you acted that way, Naofumi?" When she asked that, I only shut my eyes as I didn't want to think about that bitch. Because her, this hatred started. Because of her… I… I'm not the same person that I once was anymore.

"It's nothing Uzume, I'm not a fan of someone getting close-"

"But what about Raphtalia? I might not know what your problem is, but I think it has to do with being around women, Naofumi. You responded accordingly to Neptune by slapping her hand away, and you did the same to me. However, you don't do the same with Raphtalia, no matter how close she is to you. And… why is that, Naofumi? Are you hiding the-"

"And what about you? Umio told us all about you, you know. He told us that you weren't exactly like this, Uzume. Before, you used to be a cheerful girl without thinking about the troubles of the world, and now, here you are, risking everything you have to save this… cold and barren world. Why was it that you couldn't tell us this instead of Umio, Uzume? Is it because you're-"

"I guess I was a go-lucky girl back then. However, because of this world, it changed me, Naofumi. If I needed to, I would need to change all of what I used to be, to become someone stronger. Are you not the same, Naofumi? While you are rude at some times, I'm sure this wasn't-" Raising a hand, it stopped her from talking.

"Stop. Don't talk like you know me, Uzume. My past is my past. If I wanted to tell you, then I will. If I don't, then I won't. Now, hurry up and go to the others. I'll meet up with you after I'm done here." Taking a look back, I can see Uzume standing at the door again with a smile.

"...You know, I think you should go with Neptune and Nepgear, Naofumi. In this world, you won't be able to change yourself. In this world, there's nothing but emptiness. Anywhere would be better than this prison..." With that, she walked out of the shop. What? What the hell did she mean by that? Wait… I just realized something…

When did Uzume call Neptune and Nepgear by their actual names…?

"Uzume!" No, _that _wasn't Uzume! Her talking patterns, the way she addresses Neptune and Nepgear… the person who I was talking to wasn't Uzume at all! Then… who the hell was this person imitating Uzume? Rushing out of the door, I couldn't see her anywhere. Damn it! She's fast enough to disappear without a trace!

Now, the only question starts to plague my mind:

Who exactly is Uzume…?


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N **

**Hey everyone. Finally done with school for the week, and I feel like I'm already dying. Now, this chapter is going to be a little different. Because I wasn't back into the hang of things, the first part is a bit in third-person. Don't worry, everything else is going to be back to 1st person later on. I... uh, might have a warning for this chapter. I am... EXTREMELY lazy right now, so please excuse any grammar issues! Not only that, but with how my sleep schedule has changed dramatically... I think I'm getting into depression again. Anyway, I apologize if this chapter ended up like dirt...**

**Update: Ah... um... I forgot to write about Filo... please forgive me...**

Naofumi Iwatani was never a person that would just stand and watch something with any activity. No, he was a person that would stand and watch something that either piques his interest, or pisses him off. If Naofumi had to do something about said interest, he needed to observe and learn what he's dealing with. He focuses on strategies, because of the fact that he's the Shield Hero. Observing was the only thing he could do when he has no way of overpowering his enemy when all he has is a shield. Powerful, but nonetheless, it was a shield.

"Naofumi, is there something wrong? You've been… staring at Uzume for quite some time now." Hearing the curiosity behind Raphtalia's voice, he turned his gaze from Uzume to Raphtalia. As he had the eyes of a predator analyzing their prey, Raphtlaia found them odd. "Naofumi… what's going on?"

"Raphtalia… it's… nothing to worry about. I was just wondering if Uzume was going to be okay since… you know, they'll be leaving soon." Naofumi crossed his arms as he usually did when he furthered his conversation. "You know, I don't even know what we could be doing now. Neptune and Nepgear would be going to their home, but we'll just be stuck here… with nothing but a barren world." For some odd reason, Raphtalia was smiling at him.

"Naofumi-sam-I mean, Naofumi, do you not like this world? I thought you would've liked to be away from… _that _world." In the background, Neptune, Uzume, and Umio were watching Nepgear work a bit more on the terminal that she started minutes ago.

"Call me whatever you want when we're alone. However, when we're with them, it's probably best if you drop the formalities. Trust me, I would use all of my savings that I have in my bank account to get away from that world, but… what's the point of exploring a new world if it's months or even years before collapsing? You've seen the landscapes around, Raphtalia. Collapsing buildings, messed up streets, and even huge wastelands. All I'm saying is that I just… want to start all over, Raphtalia. Like in… a new world where people don't have to say "look, it's him, the shield asshole!", or something like that." Raphtalia blinked before smiling.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with starting over, Naofumi-sama. As long as I'm with you, then that's okay with me. I know it's sad to see Uzume's world start to crumble by each second, but… I think we should at least try and figure something out for all of us. I know! Why don't we all just go with Neptune and Nepgear! We can even bring Uzume and Umio along with us!" Naofumi only closed his eyes at the idea.

"...That doesn't seem like a bad idea, but what if Uzume refuses to come with us? She's been fighting and protecting the creatures here for who knows how long? Do you think she would just want to drop that responsibility just like-" Naofumi stopped all of a sudden. After a pause, he opened his eyes again. "Drop responsibility… yeah, why should she want to do that?" Raphtalia's mouth opened slightly, but she chose not to speak. "It's funny… even if we stayed in this world, and even if the world doesn't somehow collapse, how will people be brought back here? If anything, that's sounds like reproduction with all that's left…" Being taken off guard by the random change of subject, Raphtalia's face started to redden.

"R-reproduction?!" As it was Naofumi's turn to be taken back by Raphtalia's odd behavior, he raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah… reproduction. How else are people going to be born here, Raphtalia? What, is there something wrong with reproduction?" Not following what's going through Raphtalia's mind, he asked her with full curiosity.

"N-nothing's wrong with it! It's just… all that's left seems… you know… there's only Uzume and me and… god, why am I saying such strange-"

"The monsters that's all left here that's going to be reproducing one another is going to be a problem. As they are people, they're going to need to reproduce so they could repopulate this world. Hm? Raphtalia, is something wrong?" As Naofumi was explaining what he _really _meant by reproducing, Raphtalia could only just stand there with her face red as a cherry.

"N-nothing at all! Let's go see how Nepgear and the others are doing with that machine!" As she quickly sped off to go see what was going on with the others, Naofumi could only watch her with confusion. Shrugging off the confusion, he walked over to the others, which was in front of the huge terminal this time.

"This is…!" Speaking from shock, everyone around started to look at her to see what she had found.

"What's wrong, ? Did you find something good?" As Neptune asked that, Nepgear turned to look at her with a bit of sweat trickling down her head.

"Well, Neptune, I just found out that this is a transport facility! Whatever was here before, this was a place for the means of transporting goods to neighboring cities!" Everyone showed their shocked faces upon hearing that from her.

"That's good, ! With this, we could-"

"But… it's not useful for interdimensional travel, Neptune… sorry." Sighing while smiling, Neptune could only pat her sister's back.

"No need for apologizes, ! We all have a limit to what we can and cannot do!"

'_For someone who wants to go back to their world, she's awfully good at taking news…' _Naofumi thought as he watched the two sisters talk.

*Beep!* *Beep!* "Huh? What's that noise?" Upon hearing the beeping, Uzume asked the question everyone wanted to know.

"That's… my N-Gear!" Quickly taking it out, Nepgear started to stare at the device that she held in her hand. "Neptune! This is… it's Histoire!" Happy to see someone that recognized on her device, Nepgear quickly showed Neptune what was on her device.

"Wow, that's good, ! I didn't think Histoire had a premium cellphone plan between dimensions, huh?!" Neptune spoke jokingly. After that, Nepgear answered the call.

"Historie! I'm so glad to hear from you!"

* * *

1st Person

A device that's able to communicate through dimensions? Now… _that _sounds hard to believe. But, even then, ever since I came from this world, a lot of things had been going on weirdly. Surely, I shouldn't be surprised that those sisters have a walking communicator that can signal between dimensions… nevermind, I still find it hard to believe.

"Thank goodness I was able to contact the two of you. I was growing very concerned that you two will not never come back." After the sisters introduced themselves when Nepgear answered the call, this… Histoire person started to speak. Is she… from another dimension? Like, seriously?

"Sorry, Histoire, we didn't have any way of contacting you ever since we first arrived here. There's barely any reception over here!" When apologized, I noticed that she closed her eyes.

"There's no reason to, Nepgear. As long as I'm able to speak to the two of you right now, then everything is okay. However, I must request to know how the two of you managed to get transported into a new dimension, but, I suppose I should focus on the main topic at hand right now." As she did sound mature like an overprotective mother with concern being heard for the most part, somehow, I feel like she's probably used to this kind of problem. The way she casually speaks of them traveling to a new dimension basically gave me the signs…

"Sorry, Histoire, we'll be sure to tell you everything when we get back. Right, Neptune?" When I looked at Neptune along with everyone else, I could see that she looked tired as she started to slouch while standing. Okay, I know for a fact that she's definitely not tired whatsoever.

"Aww! And here's to hoping I could get a good rest from after all of this!" Neptune complained.

"I fail to see how you can be so tired in a situation like this, Neptune. Knowing you, I can only imagine you being lazy on a couch somewhere doing nothing but sleeping." Annoying and lazy? Those are the ingredients of being a complete slob!

"Ah, so Nepsy acts like that in her world, too." Umio said while smiling.

"Oh? Is there someone else with you two? I hope the both of you haven't been giving them trouble, right?" This is a person that they know as an acquaintance, right? She's not their mother, right?

"Hello, my name is Umio. It is a pleasure to meet you, Histoire. Rest assured, they haven't been giving us any trouble. In fact, they have been helping us for the very least." Umio explained.

"Truly, it is a relief to hear that. Nepgear and Neptune can… they have a knack for bringing trouble. If I must clarify, it is Neptune who is bringing the trouble, while Nepgear is tagging along." A knack for bringing trouble, huh? Neptune does seem like the type to bring trouble her way.

"Wow, Nepsy, I didn't think you would have a problem with causing trouble! Well, with the way you can conduct jokes randomly, I wouldn't be surprised if I ever see running away from a horde of people!" As if she was thinking of the scene already, Uzume started to laugh.

"Well, with the problem that we're facing right now, you're assumption isn't-wait…" Out of nowhere, she suddenly stopped talking. Was there something that took her interest?

"Histy? Something wrong?" Noticing her quietness, Neptune spoke up to see if there was something wrong.

"H-huh? N-no, there's nothing wrong. It's just that… that person's voice reminded me of an old acquaintance. Nevermind that, I do believe that it's time I get to business, correct? Now then, Nepgear, by mediating through the N-Gear, and linking a transport terminal from that world to ours, I'm sure that I will be able to get the both of you home." With widening smiles, Neptune and Nepgear jumped for joy.

"Wahoo! It's time to go home! I can't wait to get back into-"

"You are going to say along the lines of "can't wait to get back to work", right, Neptune? Because, surely, with how long you've been gone, you should at least have concern over your nation, correct? Planeptune has been suffering a downfall of shares recently, so you _will _do your best to correct that problem, yes? Not only that, but for me to transport you two home, I will need to use a large amount share energy, so you _do _realize the risk of doing so, correct?" Not a single person spoke after she finished. She's… surely something, isn't she? She must've been dealing with Neptune for a long time, huh?

"...Hey, Newbie, what's it like in your world? I need to stay there for at least… forever so I can get away from Histy." Glaring at her, I didn't say anything to her. "Woah! Okay, okay! No need to glare those eyes on my frail body! Unless… you like-"

"As if, Loli…"

"New...bie? Neptune, who are you speaking to? And please, do tell why you gave someone that ridiculous nickname." Oh, if only it was a nickname… if only.

"Huh? Oh, Newbie's just a random person we met along the way through our long journey! Trust me, Histy, if you would've seen him for the first time like I did, then you will be thinking that he's some weirdo that's trying to get into everyone's-"

"Excuse me, sir, by the sounds of it, it seems like you've been having trouble with Neptune, correct?" Histoire wasted no time cutting Neptune off. I see that she doesn't want to deal with Neptune's shit too, right? After walking up to the device that Nepgear has in her hand, I sighed dramatically.

"You… have no idea." Histoire giggled in response.

"Sir, I do believe that is _you _who has no idea. Truly, it is such a chore to get her out of her bed so she can work for her nation." Hearing a "hey!" from Neptune, I could only understand that what she's saying is in fact true.

"Iwatani Naofumi. You can call me Naofumi if you want to, though. I have… a partner named Raphtalia along with me." After saying her name, Raphtalia walked up closer to the device.

"H-hello, it is a pleasure to meet you, Histoire." Since this was Raphtalia's first time speaking to a device that was almost similar to a phone, I could understand her nervous behavior.

"It is a pleasure, Naofumi and Raphtalia. Naofumi, if I must add, I believe that Neptune has said that she has met you along her journey. May I know how you two met?" What's with the sudden interest? Other than that, should I tell her my situation?

"It was just a random encounter. Raphtalia, Filo, and I came from… another world…" There shouldn't be a reason to hide this from her. As she already sounds like she's mature enough to handle news, this might be for the best.

"Another world, you say? Please, tell me, how did you end up in that world along with Neptune and Nepgear?" Now, that's the question that I still haven't solved. Because of that random portal, we just ended up here.

"There was… a portal that sucked us into this world. I don't have any idea how the portal randomly appeared, but all I know is that it appeared after I opened a book that had some weird design on it." She didn't say anything after I explained my situation to her.

"...I see… a book, correct? My apologies, Naofumi, but if you're asking if I could send you back to your world, then that might be impossible. I would need to-"

"That's… not what I'm asking. In fact, I'm not asking for anything Histoire."

"You're… not? Pardon me if I'm intruding, but do you not wish to go back to your world? I'm sure that you might have some relations that might be worried for your absence, so I will be sure to try and figure out some way to-"

"No!" Realizing that I suddenly raised my voice with aggression, I calmed myself down by breathing in and out. I don't know how powerful Histoire is, but I now know that she has the ability to transport between dimensions. I get that she's trying to help me get back… "home", but I don't want anything to do with that damn world. It can just burn for all I care…

"My apologies, Naofumi. I did not wish to intrude into your privacy. If there's anything you would like to know, then I am open for questions." Now don't I feel like a bastard? Damn that world for turning me into this… shell of a person.

"Naofumi…" Hearing Raphtalia call my name, I turned back to her to see that she looked sad. What for? For that, I don't even know. Suddenly, Raphtalia's eyes began to harden as she looked sure of something. "Um, Histoire, I have a request if you're open to them." As she talked to the device, I could only raise an eyebrow in confusion. A request? What kind of request does she even have for her? Wait… she couldn't be asking Histoire to-

"A request? If it is anything in my power, then yes, I am open to requests." Raphtalia happily smiled while she looked back at me.

"That's… that's good! Well… I was hoping that… you could allow us to come your world." As Nepgear was still holding the device, her eyes widened.

"Raphtalia… are you sure? What about your world? Don't you want to-"

"It's okay, Nepgear. Naofumi and I talked about this for some time now, and… we decided to do this." While looking saddened, Raphtalia looked at Nepgear with a sad smile. Does she… regret having to leave that world? She was trying to convince me that didn't like the idea of abandoning the innocent in that world. Of course, I would reject that idea, but why would she be making that face right now? Why do I feel so unsure for some reason? I want to restart, yes, but what about Raphtalia's happiness? No, this _is _for Raphtalia's happiness. I wanted us to find a new world so we could just-

"...Raphtalia, correct? May I ask why you want to come to our world? While I do appreciate the kind gesture of keeping an eye out for Neptune, but I must have an answer why you want to do this. Please, do consider the fact that there are others in your world that are concerned for the safety of you two, and if they so happen to understand that you two aren't coming back… it'll be a disaster to them." "Others" are only bastard people that are concerned for their own lives. "Others" are only the bastard people who looked down on me. There are no "others" that would be concerned for our safety.

"If I must answer… it's because," Taking a look at me, Raphtalia only smiled, which I found odd. "I want to do this for the happiness of Naofumi. There isn't any other reason why we want to do this. Please… allow us to come to your world…" She's… doing this for my happiness? Why is she even considering something like that?!

"Wait, Raphtalia-"

"Yeah, wait just a minute! I believe _I _deserve a better answer than that, right, Newbie?!" After turning towards her, she began to stomp towards me with a pout. What the hell is her problem? "_You _promised that after everything is over, _you _would tell me explain everything to me! Now, let's all hear it, Newbie! Give me, and everyone else in the room _your _reason why you want to come with me! Since it's _my _nation that you're going to, I won't let you come with me until you give me a proper answer!" Nudging her finger to my chest with every sentence, she sounded unsatisfied. With that stupid pout on her face, I can't take her seriously. That's right… I did say that I was going to _talk_.

But… would this make my situation worse?

"...Fine." This was the first part of a stepping stone that could potentially lead me into a new path. A path of freedom… or two self-dread. "Raphtalia, is that okay with you?" Looking at her, I could see that she looked uncertain. No, it's not her fault to feel like this. It's not her fault that she had to experience something so dreadful in her life. It wasn't her fault that she became a slave…

"...It's okay, Naofumi. I… prepared myself for this…" As everyone became silent, as the atmosphere became thick enough to even almost choke me… it was the time that I explain everything to them. Tch, truly, my life became a shithole.

"...Iwatani Naofumi. A college student from Japan whose life went to hell after opening life had gone to shit because of opening a book." No one said anything to that. "The book… within the book, told a story of four heroes that were to be summoned to that world so they could protect that world from the Waves. Spear, bow, shield, and sword are the weapons that the Four Cardinal Heroes wield to fight the Waves. And… after reading the book for a few seconds… I got sucked into the book and became the Shield Hero."

"Time out. So, you came from a world named Japan, right? And after you read this book, you got sucked into it and became… one of the heroes from the story? I'm sorry, Naofumi, but it already sounds unbelievable." Uzume began to scratch her head a bit as she found my story to be confusing.

"...If you choose to not believe me, then don't. Just know that everything that I'm telling you is in fact true. It was a new world… a world that I didn't think could ever exist. Magic, monsters, and levels… it was a dream come true. But, that was the me who didn't know of that damn world's corruption." Nepgear raised her hand with a nervous look on her face. Um, I don't know why she's doing that, but okay…

"Nepgear… is there something you need?" I asked, not understanding why she's raising her hand.

"S-sorry, I just didn't want to cut you off when you were talking, so I had to come up with something to get your attention. A-anyway, can you explain what "the me" means?" After sighing, I nodded my head.

"When I first arrived in that world, I was naive. I didn't think of anything bad happening to me because I was a Hero… but when it came down to it, why was a shield a weapon, anyway? Of course, upon meeting the other Heroes, that they looked down on me. Because I wielded a shield, I was looked down upon by the others… but of course, I thought they were just joking. Heh, oh, how much I would want to punch my idiotic face in the past. It wasn't until a few days later… that I realized that because I'm the Shield Hero… I was a waste of space."

"Naofumi… you shouldn't think of yourself like that. I'm not trying to say this to try and scold you, but never think that you're someone of lesser value to someone." As Umio was trying to warm me up a bit… I oddly did something that I didn't think I would ever do:

I laughed.

Because I'm looking back to how everything began, I could only laugh.

Why?

Because they laughed.

They laughed at how pathetic I was back then.

But now… I can laugh _at them. _

"Oh, but when the odds are against you, what would you even do, Umio? When… you're accused of something that you haven't done… what would you do, Umio? I'm not talking about being a waste of space to myself. I'm talking about the world. Because of the works of a _bitch_, I suffered my entire life there!" Raphtalia started to walk towards me. "I was accused, damn it! Accused of… accused of rape! Because I'm the Shield Hero, I was accused of rape!"

Raphtalia stood right in front of me.

Nepgear put her hand over her mouth.

Neptune's bangs covered her eyes.

Umio's eyes widened in shock.

Uzume clenched her fist in anger.

And Histoire… didn't say anything.

"A partner, the only partner that I thought I had when not a single person wanted to protect their fucking world with me was the one who accused me of raping her… I fucking lost it! Not a single person believed me! I was fucking doomed from the very damn start! She and her fucking father of a king planned to fucking make me look pitiful from the very start! Compared to the Heroes who could actually fight, I was trash compared to them! To them, I wasn't worth a glance! And then, I got stripped of everything! No money, no house, I didn't have anything that the Heroes had!" I'm annoyed. Annoyed at how pathetic I look to these people. To them, I could just be throwing a tantrum at them, but to me…

It was… nothing. I didn't know why I was continuing on like this. I didn't know why I couldn't just tell them everything in minor details, but for some reason, I didn't stop. I didn't stop the thoughts of those bastards betraying me, so I didn't stop talking. Word for word for word for word. Minor went higher. I just… no, I can't. Anger swells. Sadness rises. Happiness sinks. Everything went to shit because I was summoned there.

Life... just wasn't enough.

"**Raping the princess?!" **

"**How could the Shield Hero do such a thing?!" **

"**He thinks he's so tough because he's the Shield Hero?!" **

"**Your life will be nothing be filled with consequences!" **

Yeah, it was never enough.

"I bought a slave because I couldn't fight! I made people pay me money in my own way! Was there something wrong with doing what it takes to get back home?! They wanted me to save their world while I continued to suffer through hell! What's wrong with not wanting to go back there?! To not save lives that are worthless like theirs?! When they are the ones suffering, why is that they come to me to save them?! Is it wrong for me to find my own happiness in life?!" And then, I felt something collide with my stomach. Looking down, I could see familiar purple-lilac hair that belonged to the loli. With her face buried into my stomach, I couldn't see her face.

"...Let go, Neptune." I was trying to pry her off of my body, but her grip around me tightened. I don't know why she's doing this, but it's getting rather annoying. When she didn't respond, I could only continue to try to get her off of me.

"...Tell me, Naofumi. Have you ever thought about saving them, regardless of how ill they treated you?" As it had been a long time since she spoke, Histoire finally speaks again. Looking at Nepgear who was holding the device, I could see that she was looking at me with a sad expression. As she continued to look at me, I could see her eyes beginning to waver. For a split second, I saw Raphtalia standing right there… from the time I first met her.

"...I did. With Raphtalia, I participated in the Wave to save a village that was being attacked by a bunch of monsters. While they were busy trying to fight the boss, I decided to save the village that they decided to ignore."

"I see… so you followed the path of going with your heart, is that it?" When she asked me that, I clenched my fists.

"And how would you know that? You don't know me enough if I could have been saving their lives for my own personal gains."

"You are right, Naofumi. I don't know you. If I might put some insight into this, it would appear that I will be allowing a random person into my nation that could be a potential threat to all of Gamindustri. But, even if I don't know you, I know that you have a good heart."

"...And what makes you say that?"

"Because you chose to stay along side of Neptune, of course." I couldn't hide my confusion as I raised my eyebrow. "While yes, Neptune is incredibly lazy, she has a good heart. When she sees someone in trouble, she goes out of her way to make sure that she can help. When she sees someone sad, she goes out of her way to make them happy. What I'm saying is that everyone has a choice, Naofumi. Neptune, as much of a bad goddess that she is, has the choice of being lazy or doing her job. Sadly, she chooses to nap around all day until I wake her up, but my complaints aren't the things you want to hear. While you have been treated poorly, you chose to save the lives of those very people who treated you poorly. Now, Naofumi, what will you choose to do, right now? Let's say that I had a way of sending you back to that world, Naofumi. Now, would you choose to stay somewhere away from there? Or would you rather choose to go back and fulfill your responsibility to save the lives of others?"

Choices. They were the bane of my own existence. "Should I", "I should've", "I could've", "I would've", I hate them all. I hate them because they all lead to the same results:

I shouldn't have opened that book.

"...I won't go back there." And just like that, I felt something come into contact with my cheek. A fist. It would've hurt if I didn't have the protection of the shield's defense, but nonetheless, it didn't. Or was it that I managed to grow stronger? Either way, the punch didn't hurt.

"...Did that hurt?" Looking at Uzume, the person who threw the punch, I could see her glaring right at me. Raphtalia, who immediately got in her way, was simply ignored as Uzume walked straight towards my face. "Did that hurt, Naofumi?" She asked again.

"...I felt it." A half-lie that wouldn't go unnoticed. While I felt the impact of her punch, I felt not pain from it.

"A hundred, a thousand, or even a million other people could be experiencing something more painful than what I just gave you. You know something, Naofumi? I'm pissed. And I'm _really _pissed off. I'm pissed because _you _chose to give up!" After wounding up another punch to give me, she sent it straight towards the bridge of my nose. However, again, I didn't feel anything. "_You _chose to abandon people who might not even treat you like that!" Another. "_You _chose to abandon your responsibilities!" Another. "_You _chose to abandon what your heart truly wants!" And another. But… this one… I didn't feel it.

No, all I could see was brown hair going past my face.

"Raphtalia!" As she was on the floor with a bruise on her left cheek, she was still able to open her eyes. As Uzume was shocked to see that Raphtalia took the hit for me, she didn't move.

"I… I didn't mean to! Uz… Uzume didn't mean to!" As her voice was starting to become high-pitched again, she quickly went to Raphtalia's side. "Raphtalia, are you okay?! Uzume didn't mean to hurt you!" Uzume's eyes began to water as she realized that she attacked one of her friends.

"T-that hurt, Uzume…" Raphtalia managed to say as she started to rub her cheek in pain.

"Of course it did! Why did you jump in front of him like that?!" Raphtalia looked at me before smiling at Uzume.

"Because… I made a promise to the one who saved my life countless of times, Uzume. I promised him that no matter what, I will share the exact same pain that he experiences." Neptune's grip began to tighten.

"But why?! You shouldn't be doing something like to begin with! What if Uzume put in enough power to break a bone?! Raphtalia, you shouldn't-"

"It's okay, Uzume. It's my choice to make this decision. Just like how it was Naofumi-sama's choice to raise a dying slave like me… I will do whatever it takes to make sure that he's satisfied with life. Please don't misunderstand Naofumi-sama, Uzume. Even when I'm his slave, he takes care of me. Instead of not fighting when I was scared, Naofumi-sama hasn't done a single thing that made me feel uncomfortable. His heart is as good as Neptune's, Uzume, but… there's a limit to how much one person can take their problems head-on." And then, Neptune let's go.

"...Enough." With a sudden demanding voice, Neptune stopped the two from talking any further. As I didn't see what her expression was, but I could tell that it wasn't good. Based on the shocked look of Raphtalia and Uzume's face, I could tell that it wasn't good.

"Nep...tune…" Uzume managed to speak out.

"We're all friends here, Uzume. There's no need to hit him anymore, okay? We all made mistakes, Uzume. But… even if those mistakes are right or wrong, we can't just attack our friends for the decisions that they make. I mean, look at me, Uzume. I'm a goddess and I… make stupid mistake as well! Heh, I guess even goddesses aren't perfect, huh? Naofumi…" As she tried to make a joke out of her own actions I knew nothing of, she smiles. Turning towards me, I could see something wet drip down from her eyes.

"I'm… sorry. You… suffered so much. You can stay with us if that's what you want, okay? I'll be waiting with Nepgear, so don't mind me!" Even while smiling, she still manages to show sympathy. Or was it just pity? Anyway, she walked towards Nepgear without saying anything else. Standing back up, Uzume walks back up to me after coughing a bit.

"It's… been hard, huh, Naofumi? Sorry that I… began punching you, by the way." She showed off a small smile.

"...You don't have to worry about me, Uzume. Just make sure that everyone that you meet along the way is satisfied with what you do for now on, all right?" Her eyes widened before closing her eyes.

"So, you knew that I didn't have any plans of giving up this place, huh?"

"When we first met, you were stubborn enough to almost give up your life for such a barren world. Even if managed to come with us, you'll always be concerned about the safety of the monsters that you'd save, right?"

"Heh! Read me exactly like a book. Don't worry about me, Naofumi. I'll be sure to create a world where everyone could find happiness once again! As long as I can dream it, it _will _happen! Don't get into trouble now, ya hear?" With that, she started to walk towards Umio. "Oh, and before I forget!" Walking back to me, she raised her fist right back at me. As I had a feeling that it was going to be a punch, it wasn't. Instead of the fist going to my face, it went to my heart. No, it wasn't even a punch she was trying to do…

"Never forget where you came from, Naofumi. Whether if it was bad or good, we all have our history. If we can't remember them… then we'll just create memories that shape us into someone that's the same as ourselves! I know that it's a hard thing to say but… being alone can really change you, you know?" From one person who knew loneliness to another… she wished the best of luck for me. No… she experienced loneliness much more than me.

"...Yeah… good luck, Uzume." As Raphtalia walked towards the terminal where Nepgear and Neptune now stands, I started to follow her. Looking back, I could see Uzume and Umio smiling at us.

"Wait, before we go, let go get Filo!" Almost forgetting about Filo, Raphtalia rushed out of the building and hurried to get Filo. I must admit... I forgot that I left Filo in Uzume's base. Well, as long as Raphtalia grabs her, then we'll be fine. Standing inside the terminal, I waited for Raphtalia's return with Filo.

"Oh, if you ever decide on going back to that world, then give me a call! I would absolutely _love _to make sure people understand who they're dealing with!" Uzume called out. An invisible rope started to tug on the corner of my lips. As it began to pull more and more, my lips curved into a smile. As she was quick on her feet, Raphtalia was able to return with Filo as she was riding on her back.

"Sorry for the wait! Okay, Filo, we'll be finding a new home, okay?" Getting off of Filo, she petted Filo.

"Gwah!" Happily chirping, she, along with Raphtalia, stood in the terminal. With how big Filo was, I could say that this was a bit of a tight fit to just stand here...

"Naofumi, if it's all right with you, I would like to discuss the book that you found when you get comfortable, okay? I'm beginning the countdown in 5…" Looking at Raphtalia, while she still had a bruise on her cheek, she smiled at me.

"...That's fine with me." Looking back at Uzume and Umio, I watched them wave their goodbyes to me.

"That's good to hear, then. 4…"

"Naofumi-sama… Uzume... you might not understand it that much, but friends are the things that we need the most. When you need a shoulder to cry to, then our friends will be there for us when we need it."

"Gwah!" Filo chirps again.

"Good luck, Filo! And make sure you kick some other bad guys asses when you see them, okay?!" Uzume yelled out. Oddly answering with a nod, Filo's eyes was ablaze with fire. This... might be troublesome if Filo could understand what we're saying... especially cursing.

"3…"

"So… when we all see each other again, let's share all our wonderful stories okay? Good or bad, let's have everyone share their feelings with one another, okay?" As she started to wave to Uzume and Umio, I looked at Neptune and Nepgear who was smiling at me.

"2…" Friends, huh? How long has it actually been since I've met someone I could consider as my friend? Too long. It surely has been too long for me. That's right…

It was never enough.

"1…"

Because…

"Transporting to Hyper Dimension, now!"

Just because.


	8. Chapter 8

After the light disappeared, an unknown environment was all I could see. As we were standing on a platform, I was able to see what was surrounding us. All I could tell was that we were in some sort of building that looked futuristic. The chairs that surrounded the table at the bottom of the stairs, the platform that had some lighting at the bottom of it, everything that I was seeing was futuristic. A whole lot better than Melromarc, that's for sure.

"What a strange land we found ourselves in, Naofumi-sama. Have you ever seen something that looked so beautiful?!" I noticed that Raphtalia started to add "sama" to my name again; I don't know why she started to do it again, but if she wants to address me like that, then it's fine.

"Welcome to my home! This place is known as the Basilicom! There's no way you wouldn't be shocked at how jaw-breaking beautiful this place is!" Neptune announced proudly. This is her home? For a place that looks… this good should be too much for a person like Neptune. "Lazy", if I should describe Neptune.

"Where's Histoire, Big Sis? Knowing her, she should be here giving us both a lecture." Starting to walk down the stairs, Nepgear looked around to see if Histoire was around. If she controlled the transportation, then shouldn't she be here?

"Gwah!" Hearing Filo, I turned to the sound of her voice and found that she was picking at something with her beak. If I could describe it… it looks like a small little-

"Filo, don't even think about it!" Noticing that Filo had slightly opened her mouth, I had a suspicion that she was going to eat the small person that was on the floor. When Filo heard me, she looked at me with a saddened face.

"Gwah!"

"Filo, whatever or whoever that person is, you _cannot _eat her, understood?!"

"Excuse me, what did you say?! Eat somebody?! Goodness, is that Histoire up there?!" Rushing back upstairs, Nepgear walked up to the small girl that was on the floor. Wait, why is she lying over an opened book?

"Oh my gazoots! Histy's passed out! There's nothing wrong with her, right?! Scratch that, tell me what's wrong with her?!" That's Histoire? Wait, I expected her to be… nevermind. As Neptune started to panic while Nepgear picked up Histoire, Raphtalia walked up and stood by my side. As we waited, Histoire's eyes started to open slightly.

"Neptune, she's burning up!" Nepgear exclaimed.

"Oh… you both… were able to… come back. I'm… glad…" Her voice sounded faint. I might not know that much about Histoire, but it sounds like she overwhelmed herself. Was it because of us being transported?

"Histoire, is everything okay?! I haven't seen you like this before!"

"There's… no need to… worry… Nepgear. I'm… fine. I just… completed a task that was… far beyond my specifications. Yes… it seems that… Naofumi and… Raphtalia were… able to arrive… as well. Why… was there… a bird… here?" She sounds like she's close to fainting again. She must be really exhausted…

"Thank you so much, Histoire. But… I don't think now's the time to talk right now. Can we do anything to help? And please don't mind Filo, she's nice when you get to know her." Raphtalia was the first to talk. Would she just need some rest? I mean, with a small body like hers, rest is going to be the first thing that she needs to worry about.

"I just… need rest… thank you for… your concern. Yes… just some… rest." With that, she closed her eyes and started to breathe slowly. She's asleep now.

"Histoire, is Neptune and Nepgear back-oh, hey you two. How's it-wait, who are these people, Nep? And why is there a huge bird in here?! And why is Histoire passed out in your hands, Nepgear?!" Coming in was a… woman that wore a blue oversized jacket on her body. With that, she has emerald eyes, and long brown hair.

"Iffy! Iffy, help us! Histy's sick!" The woman named "Iffy" was walking up the stairs to see what was going on.

"I can see that Histoire's passed out, Nep, just calm down. Okay, tell me what happened, and make sure you make it quick." Crossing her arms, she waited for Neptune to explain what happened so far. Great, first… few seconds we been here, and all we got was trouble so far.

"Well… you see… blah blah yada yada..." Wait, what is going on right now? Why is she speaking like that?

"Oh, I see. This and that, this and that other thing…" Did that woman just… did she just understand what Neptune just said? What did Neptune even say to begin with?!

"Um, excuse me, what were you two saying just now?" Raphtalia asked as she showed a confused expression. You know, I don't think I want to know…

"It's better if you don't ask. For now, let's just take Histoire to a place that's more comfortable. I'm IF, by the way. And you two are…?" Okay, her name is literally IF? Like… if? Or just… I and then F? She just said her name and I already feel confused. Please don't tell me that I'm going to encounter people who have names like hers…

"Okay, we'll go take Histoire to Big Sis's room. Let's hurry, Big Sis!"

"I'm right behind you, Nep. Jr! I'll go call Compa to see if she can help!" With that, Nepgear and Neptune left the room after that. All that's left was Raphtalia, Filo, IF, and myself.

"I'm Raphtalia, and this here is Naofumi-sama. It's a pleasure to meet you." IF raised her eyebrow when Raphtalia said "sama". Raising her hand, she was gesturing for a handshake. Strangely, Raphtalia cocked her head to the side when IF did that.

"What, you don't know what a handshake is? You just take my hand and we both shake it; sounds simple, right?" Looking back at me, Raphtalia looked like she was nervous. Gesturing her to take it, she turned back to IF and did just that. I don't think it was Raphtalia not knowing what a handshake was, it was the nervous feeling that she had before shaking her hand. She probably must be used to waiting for permission to do something…

"Nice to meet you, Raphtalia. And… you're Naofumi, right? Nice to meet you. Nice shield you got there!" With that, she raised her hand.

"_My name is Mine. It's an honour to fight with you." _

"_I'm Naofumi Iwatani. Nice to meet you." _

"_**My pleasure…" **_

"...No thanks, I'm good. Let's hurry and go see what's going on with Neptune and Nepgear." Without wasting any time, I walked down the stairs and followed the path Neptune and Nepgear went. I didn't care about the expression that IF was making at that time. All I could say was that I can't make any mistakes this time. I have to be careful with who I might encounter from now on…

Now, where's Neptune's room…?

* * *

"Nep-Nep, I'm here! Who're the new faces, Nep-Nep? Are these people new friends that you met while you left without saying anything again?" Another… woman has arrived to meet Neptune and Nepgear. As we were all in a… girly room that belongs to Neptune, I found myself standing aside; trying my best to be away from the newly formed group.

"Ouch, Compa! When you say it like that, it sounds like you weren't even worried that I was gone!" Neptune exclaimed. The new woman wore a cotton-like sweater and had a pouch with a large "C" on it. With that attire, she has creamy pink-like hair. And because of Neptune, I now know that this woman's name is Compa… another weird name.

"Well, I don't want to sound rude when I say this, Nep-Nep, but I'm kind of getting used to you disappearing without saying anything." She smiled after saying that. How low can Neptune even get? I know she's lazy, but she disappears without saying anything to her friends? What's going through her mind most of the time?

"Hey, I know I disappear a lot, but you should know when I try to get pudding! Or… when I want to escape Histy's lectures…" That answers my question.

"Okay, now's not the time for this! We have to focus on helping Histoire!" Getting the two quiet, IF focused on Histoire's sleeping form. "Okay, I remember something about Histoire being an artificial lifeform, so is there any sort of… instruction manual for times like this? Surely, there should be something that can help us out." So, Histoire's a creation? So, she's like some sort of robot that was given life, right?

"Oh, you're right, Iffy! Now, the problem is that we have to find the book that Histy talked about in her lecture that I wasn't paying attention to!" She blatantly admitted. IF could only pinch the bridge of her nose in frustration.

"Seriously, Nep? You could _at least _pay attention to something as important as that! Sometimes, maybe Histoire's lectures are _very _important to how you act, Nep." Neptune scoffed in rejection.

"As if! Do you know how many times I have to listen to her lectures every day?! It's like, three or four! There's five if she felt like it! Trust me, Iffy, all I heard at that time was "blah blah blah manual". Okay, now it was _my _turn to pinch the bridge of my nose. If you have to be lectured that many times in a single day, then there is _something _wrong with how you act, Neptune.

"No, excuses, Neptune! We all have to lend an ear to someone when it's most important! Especially when it's about a recipe for your favorite food!"

"Compa, that doesn't even tie into what we're talking about! And don't give Neptune any-"

"Oooh! If we're talking about a recipe of pudding, then I'll lend my ear to-wait, but that means that I have to make it! That's sooooo tiring!" Neptune slouched.

"Big Sis, I can make some if you want me to. It's not that difficult, really."

"Really, Nep. Jr?! I couldn't have any sister to replace you! You're the best, Nep. Jr!" As Neptune began to hug Nepgear, she started to nervously laugh. Seeing that they forgot about Histoire, I sighed.

"Something wrong, Naofumi-sama?" Not noticing that Raphtalia had walked over to me, I flinched a bit. Because Filo's too big to fit through the doorway, we had to leave her in the area where we first got transported to. Now that I think about it, when was the last time Filo ate something? Oh well, I'll feed her something after we find something to help Histoire.

"Oh, Raphtalia, I didn't see you there. Shouldn't we be finding something to help Histoire? I don't think we should be wasting any more time…" Raphtalia nodded her head in agreement.

"I agree, Naofumi-sama. They said something about a… instruction manual book that could help. Where should we look to find that book?" I raised a bent finger to my chin, thinking about it some more. Hmm… what about the book that she was sitting on? Surely, that has some grave importance, right?

"Let's go check out the book that she's laying on. It might give us some clues as to what we might need." Raphtalia hummed in agreement before we both walked to the bed that Histoire was laying on. As she was peacefully breathing, showing that she resting nice and well, we looked at the book that she was laying on.

"It doesn't look like it has anything written on it. Maybe this won't help us with anything, Naofumi-sama." As we looked at the book that she was laying on, it didn't appear to have anything written on the pages that she was laying on. There _has _ to be something written in the book. There _should _be a reason why she's laying on top of a book.

"Excuse me, may I ask what you two are doing?" As we both turned around, we saw Compa staring at us with a confused expression. Looking behind her, I didn't see Neptune nor Nepgear in the room. When did they leave?

"Oh, pardon us, we were just seeing if the instruction manual book that I...F was talking about was the one that Histoire's is sitting on." Again, Raphtalia was the first top talk while I crossed my arms and continued to watch Compa's expressions.

"Silly, that's not the book that we're talking about! Histoire's a totem that holds information about the world! I don't think we'll find something about Histoire in that book!" Raphtalia's ears drooped when she heard that.

"Oh, well, it was worth a shot, right, Naofumi-sama?" Unlike IF, Compa cocked her head to the side when she said my name.

"Naofumi… sama? Well, nice to meet you, Mr. Naofumi-sama! My name's Compa!" Compa smiled after she introduced herself.

"_She's so friendly, open and warm! She joined me when no one else would! __**I've got to keep her safe." **_

"Mhm." I responded, then looking out the window. Looking out the window, I could see how different and unique this place was. The streets, the buildings, they all looked like a future that Japan should be creating. Maybe… coming here wasn't a bad idea.

"He gets a little shy around people, so please don't feel bad! He's kind when you get to know him!" I heard Raphtalia quickly exclaimed.

"N-no worries! There's nothing wrong with how someone is! If he's a friend of Nep-Nep, then he's a good person in my heart!" Compa said.

"Hey, we're back! And we found the book that we needed!" Hearing Neptune's voice, I turned to the door to see Neptune holding a book to her side while Nepgear was behind her. Finally, we're getting somewhere. As they opened the book, everyone besides myself went to see what was inside.

"Please… don't… go." Huh? Was that Histoire? Turning to the bed, I can see her shivering a bit. Was she having a nightmare? Now, all of a sudden, she started to open her eyes a bit to look at me. "Time… remember… don't have… time." Why was she saying those things? What is she even dreaming about? Without anything else to say, she slowly closed her eyes and went back to a peaceful sleep. Now that I think about it, I could create a healing potion for her, but I don't know if it will work. Sure, it works on people, but would it work on artificial lifeforms? I'm sure that there's something wrong with powers, so we should probably just work on trying to get the book for her.

"Say, Nep, you hadn't really introduced Raphtalia and Naofumi that much. Anything we should know about them? Like, how you met and how you-"

"Iffy, now's not the time for that! We should be focusing on how we can help Histy! Naofumi and Raphtalia are fine..."Iffy turned towards me and raised an eyebrow. After at me, she turned towards Compa and then back towards Neptune.

"Nep-Nep, is something wrong? You usually have a nickname for people that you meet, so why not Fumi or Tali?" Did… Compa just give us nicknames? "Fumi" and "Talia"? What kind of names are those?!

"Oh, there's a "yes" and "no" thing for this type of situation! Let's solve these together! Okay, "Did she try to complete a task above her specifications"? Oh, that one's a "yes"!" Nepgear hummed in agreement as she looked at the book a little more.

"I remember that she did say something similar along those lines. "Is she unconscious"? That's a "yes" as well!" Nepgear excitingly said.

"Okay, what's going on, you two? All of a sudden, you two started to ignore-" Closing the book, Neptune walked over to me and grabbed my wrist.

"Okay, I found out what we needed! We need this thing called "Sanshiro's Soulful Patch"! Come on, Naofumi, Raphtalia! Now's the perfect chance to show you two how good Planeptune is!" Pulling my wrist, she pulled me towards the door. How much strength does she have in that loli body of hers?! She's pulling me as if I'm sort of ragdoll!

"Nep-Nep, wait! We still have some-"

"Bye-bye, guys! We'll be sure to tell all about our adventures in Planeptune!" With that, with Raphtalia walking out with a saddened look on her face, and Nepgear behind her, Neptune closed the door to the room.

* * *

"Okay, so where can we find this thing that can help Histy? We have to be sneaky and detective-like for a situation like this! Oh, or maybe like a ninja! I know someone who could help with that! We should-"

"Could you stop making up weird crap like that? We have to find this… patch thing, so all we have to do is look around, right? If it's a patch, then shouldn't it be in some sort of store?" I suggested while looking around to see the fresh and new scenery. Raphtalia was also taking in the scenery, finding things that she wouldn't normally see in Melromarc.

"You're right! We should probably find some sort of store that might know about the product! Uh, but… what if they don't know about it? If they don't, then we'll be back to square one!" Neptune's hands went to her head as if she was having some sort of mental problem. Well, she _could _have a mental problem…

"Big Sis, I don't think he meant that we check every store. Stores that sell technology products seems useful! We should check those out first!" Nepgear suggested with her eyes sparkling with interest.

"Naofumi-sama… there's… just too many amazing things in this world! People pull these objects out of their pockets and begin to tap on them as if they were writing something! It's so amazing!" Seeing that Raphtalia was looking around excitingly, I smiled. As long as she's enjoying her time here, then it was worth the decision coming here.

"Well, IF wasn't lying when she said that you made some new friends, Neptune." An unfamiliar voice came from behind us, causing us to turn around. And who would have thought… more women to talk to us. Judging by their faces and eyes, they were sisters. Fancy dresses and pigtails… yeah, I can already guess they're tsunderes. But what's odd is that the older-looking sister is holding onto a book of some kind.

"Noire! And Uni, too! What are you two doing here?!" Neptune seemed to be shocked by their presence. Meanwhile, Nepgear smiled and waved at the two.

"Well, we got a call from IF saying that you had some trouble with Histoire fainting or something like that. You're looking for something that could help Histoire, right? Then rely on us, okay?" The taller black-haird pigtailed girl said.

"Oh, how nice of Iffy to do that! Anyway, isn't it a bit strange for the two of you to be here? I mean, we are in the CPU Period Shift, so I kind of expected you two to be busy with Lastation. We've only left a couple of minutes ago, so why the sudden quickness? And what's with the book, Noire?" Nepgear asked, causing the two black-haired girls to cough into their balled-up fists.

"W-well, we _are _stuck in that situation, but Uni thought it would be nice to help you two out to get our mind off of things! While you two were gone, Blanc and Vert thought it would be a good idea to meet up at your basilicom and discuss our problems in a later day!" Yeah, I'm already seeing signs of tsundere already…

"W-what?! Sis, you were the one that wanted to see Neptune, saying that she couldn't do anything without you!" Without any warning, the older sister covered her younger sister's mouth. The older sister is Noire… and the younger sister is Uni. Whatever, it's not like we're going to see each other that often, they don't matter. Compa and IF seemed really close to Neptune, so I guess I'll be seeing them often.

"Gaaah! Don't mind what she's saying! It was totally Uni's idea to come here as quick as we could! A-anyway, I did some investigation already, and I managed to get this book for you, Neptune. It might help with sacred items since it has… "Nep-Nep Mystery Reporter" on it, so it must have some relevance, right?" Handing the book to Neptune, she moved away from her quickly.

"Hm. Oddly suspicious that you got here so fast, Noire. Are you _sure _that it was Uni's idea~? I mean, since you get lonely and all, I would've expected you to come here to only see me here!" Noire started to blush a bit out of embarrassment.

"I-I told you that it was Noi-I mean Uni's idea! Stop acting like that, Neptune!" Seeing her reaction, Neptune's mouth formed… an upside-down three? It was almost like a cat's mouth…

"Are you sure~? And what's with that random stutter~?"

"It was Uni's! The only thing I came here for… was to… was to…" She directed her attention to my face before looking back at Neptune. "I-I was interested in knowing who your new friends were! IF told me that you were acting strange when they asked you to introduce-"

"This here is Naofumi and Raphtalia! Naofumi's a human that I met in another dimension, along with Raphtalia, but she has animal features! Look at her cute raccoon ears and tail!" Neptune interrupted.

"O-okay. It's nice to meet you, Raphtalia and Naofumi. It's odd that Neptune didn't make nicknames for you two, though." Even if she did, I wouldn't accept her calling me anything other than "Naofumi".

"Nice to meet you too, Uni. And it's also nice to meet you Noire." Raphtalia smile towards them was genuine.

"It's a pleasure to meet you two. My name is Noire, the CPU of Lastation. And my younger sister, Uni, is the CPU Candidate of Lastation." Hm. Lastation… why does that sound familiar? Like… a console?

"Alright, now that we're done with introductions, let's get into reading the book! Let's see… blah blah blah, oh, I see something interesting! "Wearing golden armor, he shall stand in Gamindustri. Finding the lost people's bonds, he will finally lead them to the golden summit". What's this supposed to be? Anyway, I don't see anything that helps us. Anything else we can find to help us with this Sanshiro thingy?"

"Hold it, you didn't even read the book for a minute! Are you sure you didn't see if there was anything related to what we're looking for?! I bet you didn't!" I complained, gaining the attention of Noire and Uni.

"Now, there's no need to doubt me, right, Naofumi? Trust me, with my skills, I'm sure that there's nothing in this book that helps us in our journey. You can trust the protagonist, right?" Throwing the book away in a random direction, I slapped my face in frustration.

"Neptune! I bought that book so I could help! You shouldn't just throw things like that away! Someone could've gotten hurt!" With clenched fists, Noire stomped to Neptune with anger clearly on her face.

"What? Oh, sorry, Noire! Oops!" It was now Noire's turn to slap her face in frustration.

*Ring!* *Ring!* But, soon after that, we all could hear the sound of ringing coming from someone. Upon hearing it, Noire reacted by pulling out her phone to look at it. "Oh, it looks like Vert and Blanc did their investigations already." She said.

"Blanc and Vert are helping out, too? That's so nice of them! I'm surprised they had the time to help us in this situation!" So Nepgear's happy that there are others helping us out? They sure work fast…

"It wasn't only us that IF contacted, Nepgear. She made sure to contact Blanc and Vert so they can make investigations in their own nations. If we help out each other, then that way, it makes work faster and more efficient." Okay, so this Blanc and Vert people work in their own nations? That means… they're like Neptune and Noire here, right? Is there… more like them? Would their transformations be the same? Or would they be any different from what I've already seen?

"Wow, Noire, I never thought I would hear those words come from your mouth! Remember back in the day that you hated me because I was lazy? Oh, and remember when the Console Wars were happening?! It's surprising how life can change us… as long as we're together~!" Neptune raised her fist in the air after she said that. So… they were enemies once before? If so, then what made them into allies?

"Please… don't remind, Neptune. A-and I still hate you, don't forget that! C'mon, Uni, we've got to get going!" Noire turned away from us after she announced that she "hated" Neptune.

"Wait, where are you going?! I thought you wanted to help us out~!" To respond, Noire turned back towards us.

"I'll be sending the information to your phone, Neptune. I have to get back to Lastation and deal with the rumors and lies that's been spreading. When you get done, Neptune, you should probably focus on dealing with them, as well. You don't want to lose shares, right?" With that, she continued to walk away from us.

"W-wait, Sis!" After bowing to us, Uni ran to catch up with Noire. Raphtalia started to wave her goodbye as she watched the two leave. Tsunderes… what an odd encounter when you meet them in real life, other than watching those types in an anime…

"Aw, boo~! Right when things were getting fun! Oh well, we'll just have to wait until Noire sends us the details!"

"Big Sis, I'm going to head back to the Basilicom. I'm going to see if IF or Compa need help managing anything while Histoire's resting." Nepgear said. Immediately after hearing her say that, Neptune turned her head to her younger sister.

"What?! Nep. Jr, you can't leave me! We're the Nep Sisters! We stick together, forever and ever!" Nepgear started to laugh nervously at how Neptune was reacting.

"I'm sure you'll be fine, Neptune. You have Naofumi and Raphtalia with you, so what could go wrong? Naofumi, Raphtalia, please make sure my sister is okay and doesn't do anything risky, okay?"

"...I'm sure she'll be fine without our help." I wasn't lying. Since Neptune is a… goddess, she has strength that exceeds mine. And I'm not even saying that because I'm the Shield Herod. I'm _definitely _sure that Neptune would be fine without us. But… there's no harm absorbing some new monsters to upgrade the shield…

"We'll do just that, Nepgear! We'll be sure to hurry and help Histoire! You can count on us! Oh, and can you feed Filo for us? I'm sure she's hungry, so could you get something for her to eat?" After nodding her head, Nepgear started to rush towards her home and waved us goodbye.

"Wait, Nep. Jr! Don't leave me!" Oh yeah… I just remembered that I have to deal with Neptune for the remainder of my time…

That's just great.


	9. Chapter 9

**(A/N) **

**I hate college. That's all I'm going to say. This chapter might be terrible because I'm rusty, okay?! **

"HAAAA!" Swinging her sword at the closest Delinquent Cat, Raphtalia instantly cut the cat into pieces. However, right behind her, there was another that was ready to claw at her. Noticing, I quickly switched my shield into my newest shield, the Blue-

"I got your back! Hiya!" Quick on her feet, Neptune already stood behind Raphtalia and slashed the second cat. After thanking Neptune, Raphtalia hurried herself to attack the next monster that was threatening to attack them: a Dogoo. As they weren't that strong, the cat and Dogoo instantly died by turning into a bunch of pixels. Coming from a world where monsters bleed from attacks like those, it's… kind of weird to see them disappear into a bunch of pixels when they die. More importantly…

"Hey, Loli! Where the hell are we?! We aren't lost, right?!" As Raphtalia and I had to follow Neptune to where we needed to go to help Histoire, we noticed that yes, this world is _extremely _different than that shitty world. This "dungeon" was like… like… how the hell can I even describe how weird this place looks?! Numbers flying through the air, weird terminals next to platforms, what kind of dungeon was this?!

"This is um… the sanctuary! You know, where they keep stuff hidden away from the world! We just have to find the boss of the place, kill it, and get the reward that can help Histy!" After slashing the last enemy, we were in the clear. With Raphtalia sheathing her sword, she walked over to us with her tail swaying.

"That's not answering my question! I asked you if we're lost or not!" Hearing that, Neptune started to look around at any direction from left, right, and up. Left and right had platforms that were far away from us, and up had another level to this place. Placing a finger on her cheeks as if she was wondering about something, she looked seriously lost. And I mean _seriously _lost…

"Mmmmmaybe?" She shrugged her shoulders. She just shrugged her shoulders as she admitted that we were lost in this… this… fucking dungeon! Where was the exit again?!

"It's okay, Naofumi-sama, I'm sure we'll be able to find what we need and get out of here. It's all going to take some time, that's all." Looking at Raphtalia with a bland look, her cheeks began to redden a bit before looking somewhere else. Why she was doing that, I wouldn't know. "But… I'd say that this dungeon looks beautiful, certainly. I've never seen a dungeon look so complex before!" As she said that, she looked around to see the many colors that were surrounding us.

"I would rather focus on getting out of here, Raphtalia. I would like it if we _weren't _lost in a place that looked to be endless." Raphtalia sadly smiled at me. What? Am I the only one that's taking this situation seriously?

"I know, Naofumi-sama… but is it wrong to take a break and admire the new world around us?" "Admire the new world around us". I said something along those lines in that shitty world, and look at where that got me.

"Heya, guys! Look up here!" As I was somehow able to hear Neptune's voice above us, I looked up to see Neptune on a platform above us, waving her hand down at us. Breathing out a sigh, I could only take my hand and greet it with my face. Now, how do I yell at her without being upset?

Oh wait, I can't.

"How in the hell did you get up there, you damn loli?! First, you get us lost, and then you decide to venture out on your own?!" I heard Raphtalia nervously laughing for some reason.

"I didn't go out on my own! Look on the platform right next to you and touch that weird-looking orb!" Platform? Looking to my right, I noticed a purple platform that's different than the blue one that we were standing on. As Neptune said, there was an orb that was hovering in the middle of the platform. As we both walked towards it, Raphtalia and I looked at each other.

"Seriously? This better take us to her…" As I touched the orb, I felt my body begin to feel off. It was like my body was starting to become smaller until I couldn't feel anything anymore. Shortly, I found myself on the floor.

"Have a nice ride, Naofumi~?" Opening my eyes, I could see the face of Neptune upside down that was trying to stifle a laugh. I swear, when I-oof!

"Ow…" Feeling something heavy on my body, and hearing Raphtalia's voice, I could tell that she wasn't ready for what had happened to her.

"Ooo~, I like what I'm seeing Raphtalia~!" What the hell is her problem?

"W-what do you mean?! I-I'm sorry, Naofumi-sama!" As I felt Raphtalia's weight off of me, I stood back up and dusted my armor. Geez, not only are the dungeons weird, but some of them have some kind of transport system. With that kind of system, it'll be hard to venture into dungeons that might have some complexity to them.

"No response, Naofumi~? You were being straddled by a girl, and you have no response? Oh, you must be used to that, aren't you~?" Ignoring Neptune, I started to look around at the new area we found ourselves at. Okay, the only direction we had to go is up. Downwards looked to be a dead-end with a cube at the end of it, so it's best if we go up. But… I wonder what that box down there is…

"Neptune, you mustn't get Naofumi-sama angry! I-It's time to stop!"

"Oh, I was just joking, you two~! Learn to live a little! Mmm, live a little! I got it! After this, I'm going to make sure that you two get the best experience in Planeptune! Trust me, you two are going to have so much fun~!"

"I'm sure we will, Neptune, but… I think it'll be best if you give Naofumi-sama a break with your… jokes. He looks a bit upset right now…" As I heard them, we were walking down to see the cube that was at the dead-end.

"Upset? You mean he doesn't like you straddling him?" Finally reaching the end, I motioned my hand to grab the cube; after that, I analyzed the cube, only to see that there was something inside of it. If there's something inside of it, then…

*Crack!* "S-see, N-Neptune? I told you he was upset!"

_Nep Bull C Obtained! _

After breaking the cube with my hand, I was greeted with the sight of a menu showing that I obtained Nep Bull C. What, was this something that Neptune created on her off-time? Well, with how stupid she is, I doubt that fully…

"Let's go back up. I think it's about time we get what we needed and get the hell out of here." With that, I walked passed them.

"Hey, Raphtalia, is Naofumi perhaps… dense?"

"Dense? What do you mean?"

"I mean, if a guy gets straddled by a girl, I would at least expect them to-oh wait… I think I get it, sorry for asking." I don't know what she was getting at, but at least she kept her mouth shut...

"Huh? What's wrong, Neptune? Weren't you going to say something?"

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing, Raphtalia, nothing at all! I was just thinking of the possible ways to make the experience fun for the two of you! Don't mind poor little ol' me!"

"O-okay…" Taking a look back at them, I could see Neptune's head turned to the side, looking at nothing but the abyss that surrounded this place. Whatever she's thinking about, it has nothing to do with me. And so, turning my head back, I kept the pace of walking forward.

* * *

"...And this is a dead-end… again." As we found many paths on the top floor, we found ourselves scouting through all of them with straight being our last way to go. However, even when we headed straight, we ended up hitting a dead-end.

"Cheer up, Naofumi. With my Nep-Nep senses tingling, I _know _that there's something around here!"

"Did you… did you really just say that?" No, I know for a fact she didn't just say that. For someone like her to know that… it's just weird, that's all. It's strange, but for some reason, there's a dragon lying in the middle of the platform. And why is Neptune walking ahead without noticing the damn thing?

"Oi, Neptune, wait a second!"

"Huh? What are you talking about, Naofumi-woah!" Before she could finish her sentence, Neptune's body posture looked as if she just tripped on something. "Woah, what's this little spot doing here? I didn't even see this small hole here!" Crouching down, Neptune started to reach into the hole and brought out a box of some sort.

"Ooo, it looks like some old retro games are in this thing! You can't even find these games in my own game store! Hm, was this buried here because of the first CPU? This… this is it! Sanshiro's Soulful Patch!" Holding out an old cassette, I was able to see the writing of a "Soulful" on it. But as she was holding it out, I snatched it out of her hand.

"Hey, what are you doing Naofumi?!" Why the hell is she screaming?!

"Quiet, Neptune! I'm not going to let something so valuable in your hands!" My voice was barely above a whisper. Luckily, because of how far we were from the dragon, it didn't wake up from the sound of us.

"But I found it! The protag-" Placing my hand over her mouth, I had to keep her quiet.

"We got what we came here for, so let's hurry and go before this dragon wakes up. Keep quiet, and we won't have any problems, alright?" Saying that to Neptune, she nodded her head. Okay, first, I don't even know how the dragon didn't wake up in response to Neptune's yelling, but I guess it's fine. As long as it's not up, we can hurry and go. "Raphtalia, we're going to have to move slow and-wait, Raphtalia?" When I looked behind me, I didn't see Raphtalia. Where did she go?

"Raphtalia!" Looking in front of me, I could see Raphtalia standing in front of the dragon with her hand on the hilt of her sword. Shit, what the hell is she doing?!

"Naofumi, wait," Before I could walk towards her, I was stopped by Neptune who put her hand on my chest to stop me. What the hell is she doing now?! We have no time for this shit! "If we wake the dragon, then we might be in trouble." Why the hell was she now taking this seriously?! And what happened to screaming and walking ahead without thinking?!

"And what do you suggest we do, Neptune? I'm not going to allow Raphtalia to walk into danger like that, so stop trying to stop me." Moving her hand off of me, I started to walk forwards. As I got closer to Raphtalia and the dragon, I noticed that Raphtalia had moved her hand away from the hilt of her sword. Wait, was it dead or something? I know Raphtalia wouldn't lower her guard so easily…

"Raphtalia, what are you doing? We can't waste more time, so let's hurry and get out." Based on how close we were to the dragon, I had to whisper.

"Naofumi-sama… look at its body," I don't know why it's important, but I looked anyway. Looking at the laying dragon, I noticed that its body had been scarred from attacks that looked to be from a sword. If anything, with how deep the cuts were, this dragon shouldn't be alive. Wait…

It _shouldn't _be alive.

Monsters don't lay here when they die… they disappear!

"Raphtalia, Naofumi!" Hearing Neptune's voice, I looked back to see Neptune running at us with her sword in hand. Looking back at the dragon, its eyes opened to reveal its red slitted orbs. But, before I could do anything, I saw the tail of the dragon beginning to swing at me. As Raphtalia was quick enough to duck below the tail, I only had time to raise my shield to block the blunt impact of its tail. And as expected, the impact of its tail had knocked me back to the point I had slid to the edge of the platform, just dangling from the edge with my two hands. But… it wasn't the problem that I was going to fall, it was the fact that I was holding onto something before I got smacked over to the edge...

It was the old cassette.

And I dropped it as I got hit by the dragon.

Damn it!

"Naofumi-sama!"

*Roar!* As the dragon was fully awake, it directed its attention to Raphtalia, the closest person to it. Damn it, I'm close to falling, and I don't know where the cassette went!

"Naofumi!" In her transformed state, I saw Neptune flying next to me. For whatever reason, Neptune scooped me up into her arms in a bridal-wait, what?!

"What the hell are you doing?!" As I was in Neptune's arms, I could see that she was holding a saddened expression.

"The cassette, Naofumi… it's gone…" I felt my eyes widened in surprise. What did she mean that "it's gone"?!

"What are you talking about, Neptune?! It couldn't have-" Neptune nodded her head as a means to stop me from talking. No, that couldn't have happened!

"While you got pushed back, the old cassette flew over to the other side of the platform from where you were, and… fell." As her expression hardened at the dragon, I could see Raphtalia swiftly dodging the dragon's attacks as it was somehow slow. "The dragon's movements are slow, Naofumi. Meaning that it's damaged from whatever it was fighting before us. And if it's acting sluggishly like this, then we can end this quickly." My mind was focused on the cassette, but she was right.

"HAAAAA!" After dodging the dragon's last attack, Raphtalia raised her sword above her before slashing the dragon's stomach. As it roared out in pain, the dragon soon vanished into multiple pixels.

"Or… it looks like Raphtalia's got it covered." As Neptune slowly descended down to the platform, she stood me back onto my feet.

"Naofumi-sama, are you okay?!" Seeing that the dragon was gone and over with, Raphtalia turned to us and noticed that I was back up and standing. After running towards us, she looked to see if I had any injuries on my body, which there weren't.

"I'm fine, Raphtalia. Most importantly, we have a problem…" Raphtalia automatically knew what the problem was, and her ears flattened on her head in sadness. I turned back to Neptune, who was still in her transformed state, still wore a saddened expression on her face.

"It's gone, right, Neptune? The thing that we came here to look for is gone, right? And guess what? Who would've guessed it? It's all because of me!" Neptune's eyes widened as she was shocked to hear this from me. Shock, huh? Should she really be looking shocked, right now?

_Something felt hot in my hand. _

"What? Naofumi, none of this your fault! None of this was-"

"Cut the bullshit! You know just as well as I do that this was my damn fault! Because I wasn't careful, the cassette is gone! That was the only hope of saving your friend, Histoire, and I had to fuck it up! So, let me hear it! Tell me that it's my fault!" This isn't the first time I got blamed for something that was out of my control!"

_And slowly, it develops into something threatening, something that was ready to be released. _

*Slap!* "Neptune!" My head was turned to the side. Of course, I wasn't surprised. I eventually had this coming to me. Because of me, Neptune was going to lose her friend that she holds dearly for. Because of me… I let someone die. A hero I am, right?

_It spreads and spreads, like a disease that's gotten to everyone. _

_Like a fire. _

"You want me to say it, Naofumi? Then alright, I'll say it! It's _your _fault that the cassette's gone! If you hadn't taken the cassette from me, none of this wouldn't have happened!" There it is. The fault that had to be put onto me when it was actually my fault. "But," Feeling my head me pulled towards Neptune, I found my head in something soft. "You've got to learn to live with your mistakes, Naofumi. Back at Uzume's base, when you opened yourself to me, I finally knew why you were acting like a total jerk. I know that you're traumatized by what happened before, but… I'm here to tell you that you need to live with mistakes. From your worlds alone, from that last world, I can tell that those people are terrible. You might've been blamed for who you were before because of who you were to them, but here, you're a different person, Naofumi."

"Stop trying to persuade me that I'm different than before. You haven't seen what I've seen there, Neptune. Every move that you take, every second you Nothing's changed because of me. This is because I'm the-"

"The Shield Hero? Because you're a human that became a hero, you think mistakes aren't okay? I'm sorry, Naofumi… but not a single person is perfect in the world. Not even us goddesses that run this world are perfect, Naofumi. We take our mistakes… and we fix them. If goddesses can do it, then so can you, Naofumi." Before I could say anything, Neptune transformed back to her regular form.

"C'mon, guys! Let's go find something to save Histy!" With that, she ran off to where we came from. She's… probably heading back to the entrance of this dungeon.

"Naofumi-sama… it's… I'm sorry. If I hadn't walked to the dragon, then none of this would've-"

"Let's go, Raphtalia…" Without wasting another second, I started to walk the way we came from and after Neptune.

_A fire that can never be blown out. _

* * *

As we finally reached Neptune, we found ourselves back on the streets of… Planeptune, no one spoke a single word. The only thing that could be heard as we walked through the streets, was the multiple people that were walking around and living their life. Looking at Raphtalia, I couldn't see her eyes as her bangs were covering them. While Neptune was in front of us, I couldn't see her expression. I can't seem to understand Neptune at all. She's happy and joyful at one point, and then, she's… she's just… God, why is she so annoying?

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of ringing. And that ringing was Neptune's phone.

"Hiya, ! How's it hanging?!" As if there was nothing wrong, Neptune smiled to the phone.

"H-hey, big sis, is… is Naofumi there with you?" I found it strange that Nepgear wanted to speak with me because there shouldn't be anything that should relate to me in this world. Unless… Filo started to cause her some trouble for her…

"...Yeah, what's wrong?" There was a brief pause before I heard a response.

"Master~! When are you getting home~?!" It was a voice that I hadn't heard before. It was female and it sounded like a child.

"...Who is this?" A question that everyone would want to know since the phone was on speaker.

"Filo is Filo, Master! Get home soon, Master!" This was Filo?! How the hell was the person speaking to me Filo?! Filo's a bird and the last time I checked, bird's don't talk!

"Um… Naofumi, could you please hurry and return home? Filo's… everything is a bit strange for me, right now. A-anyway, Neptune, how's the search going? Did you find the-"

"Everything's A-okay, ! We'll be sure to find something that can help poor ol' Histy! Don't you worry, now!" Without warning, she hung up the phone and put it back in her pocket. She didn't say anything about the Soulful thing on purpose. From whatever she's feeling, I can tell that she's… why should I care? Why should I care about her? She's… she's just…

"Hey, Naofumi, whatcha' doing just standing around like that? Are you one of those people who sleep with their eyes open?" Snapping out of my thoughts, I noticed that Neptune and Raphtalia were standing in front of me. Raphtalia looked worried, and Neptune looked curious.

"Neptune… was that the only thing we could use to help Histoire?" Neptune's eyes started to look saddened. It was almost as if she was going to cry. Without warning, she turned around so I couldn't see her face.

"I don't know, Naofumi. It was the only thing we could find, so… yeah, that was possibly the only way we could help Histy," From what was supposed to be a simple shrug, had turned into constant shaking on her shoulders. "You know what sucks the most? It's just that… when I saw Histy pass out, I thought "oh, what a relief! I wouldn't have to listen to Histy's lectures anymore"! But, when I noticed that Histy wasn't waking back up, I… I panicked. Her voice sounded weak… almost like… almost like she was sick!" As I listened, I noticed that Raphtalia's shoulders were starting to shake as well.

It's a shame… that this whole mess… was because of me.

If I hadn't (_been summoned to that world) _taken that cassette from Neptune, none of this would've happened.

"-I've caused so many problems to Histy. From being put into another dimension, not listening to her lectures, and other things I kept blocking out of my head. She's been putting up with me for so long… and I continue to fail her with problems that keep happening because of me. And now… she's gonna… she's gonna… she's going to leave me, isn't she? I shouldn't have picked up that console… I shouldn't have… I shouldn't have... I shouldn't have... I wished… I wasn't Planeptune's CPU. Maybe then… Histoire wouldn't have to put up with me, right? I'm… just… I'm just a failure as a CPU!" Neptune was already using her sleeves to wipe her tears away from her face. It was until Raphtalia walked in front of her, that she embraced her.

"_We take our mistakes… and we fix them. If goddesses can do it, then so can you, Naofumi." _

I blocked out everything that surrounded us. There was no need to look at people as they casually walk past us to look at us. What mattered…

"Whatever happened to "fixing our mistakes"? Whatever happened to "we take our mistakes and we fix them", Neptune? Are you going to be a hypocrite because you're in a form that's weaker than the one who spoke those words to me," Neptune moved her head away from Raphtalia to stare at me with reddened eyes. Just looking at them… pissed me off! "...Was that truly the last of our chances to save Histoire? You wouldn't know, would you? With how lazy and stupid you are, I could tell that you didn't care a single thing about Histoire before this, right?"

"That's not true! I-"

"Then why the hell are you just moping around for? If you truly cared for her, then we wouldn't be wasting our time here! If you truly cared for her, then find your own damn way of saving her! Whether if you have to rely on others, then fucking do it then! We're standing right here, ready to help you out, and we hadn't thought of any other way of saving her! Why are you just standing there, "goddess"?! Isn't it a goddess' role to guide the damn hero to what they need to do in order to save others?!" I could see Neptune's hand clenching Raphtalia's clothes.

"I… I…"

"What's wrong, "goddess"?! Can't tell me you want?! If you can't even do that, then you fail as a goddess!" She gripped her clothing even more.

"I need… I need… I want your help, Naofumi! You can make health potions, right?! If there was any sort of slight chance, even if it takes everything that I have, I'm willing to use to save Histoire!" I crossed my arms and buried my gaze into her reddened eyes.

"...Go get me the strongest medicine you have in your nation. I don't know what I can do to help Histoire, but I'll try. I don't care if she's artificial or not… I'm going to make sure she's back in a healthy state. If a hero can't save someone's life, then they don't deserve to be called one." It might be the last time I'll see this, but the smile that was on Neptune's face as it was dripping with tears, was truly something that felt real.

"Okay! I'll be right back! And don't you dare move from this spot!" With that, she sped off past the crowd that was surrounding us. You know what, I think I should probably follow her. I can't stand the people that would be looking at us as if we're aliens. I need to hurry before I lose her in this crowd.

"Raphtalia, let's go!" Nodding her head, she followed me through the crowd. From the constant 'excuse me', I was able to see a purple plus design on someone's hoodie. That's Neptune for sure. Before I could lose her, I grabbed her arm.

"Neptunei, wait a second, will you? It'll be best if we follow along so we don't-" It was until I noticed that the person's hoodie wasn't the same as Neptune's. Instead of the white and purple design, the person that I thought was Neptune was wearing a black hoodie and the same design as Neptune. "Oh, sorry about that, I thought you were someone that I-"

"Huh? Why do you know my name? Well, since I'm the protagonist, then it makes sense that _everyone _knows my name! Anyhoo, who are you? And seriously, how do you know my name?" As the person's arm that I had grabbed was indeed female, what freaked me out, was that it was Neptune's voice that I heard from her. Turning around, I saw Neptune's face… but she's… different! She looks… like an adult?! Quickly backing away from her, I was able to see that… she had longer hair. This was Neptune, right? She can transform, right? Then… why am I feeling something wrong from her?

Almost as if she was a woman…

"Hey, that's rude! Taking a lady's arm and backing up from them as if they were an alien! Wait, you're a pervert aren't you?!" Neptune's voice, Neptune's face was clearly there… but why does she resemble a woman? "Hey, if you're not responding, then you _are _a pervert! I shouldn't waste my time with you, then! I have someone to look for!" Whoever that person was… she ran.

"Naofumi-sama, isn't something wrong?!" Seeing that Raphtalia finally caught up with me, I turned to look at her.

"No," I looked back at the direction I saw that… person went to. "There's nothing wrong at all."


	10. Chapter 10

**(A/N) **

**I can tell that many people hate me for the lack of updates. Well, after the midterms are over this week, I'll try to update a bit more often. I'm sorry guys. **

"Will this… really work?" Neptune stood behind me, keeping her distance as she waits for me to get finished with the potion. Inch by inch, I had to determine which one of the many medicines that Neptune bought would do the trick. Taking each one, I had Neptune take the medicine to Historie so she could try it out, only for small results to happen. Nep Bull EX, SP, C, Healing Bottles, and Healing Herbs. I didn't try out the Healing Bottles or Healing Herbs yet, as I wanted to test out the most efficient medicines.

"..." C only managed to turn her over a bit, SP made her yawn, and EX only made her cough. No, every one of the Nep Bull made her cough. Tasting it myself, they all tasted bitter. Mhm, that's medicine for you; the healthy medicine always tastes bitter. But, other than that, the main problems are the results from which she responds to the medicine. If those three were the best medicines that Neptune had in her nation, then the others weren't going to do much either. At this point, I'm just going to have to try them.

Or, would it be better if I could just mix the medicines together? SP and C had some sort of positive effect, but the EX might be too strong. SP regains 70% of HP, and C regains 50%. If I combined all three of these together, then it might result in something bad happening. Not only that, but I noticed on the back label that has a high amount of Vitamin C within its contents. I'm just going by a guess that too much in one day might… do something terrible to someone. How could this even be sold in the market?

"Neptune, please have some faith in Naofumi-sama. I'm sure he'll be able to make something that will help Histoire. He… even did it for me a long time ago." Neptune looked up at her with an uncertain look.

"It… worked, right? You were able to get out of your sickness, right?" Raphtalia only put her hands to Neptune's shoulders and smiled.

"Of course! Naofumi-sama's medicine are like miracles! Because of the disease I used to have, I couldn't do anything that he found me, I had believed that one day… I was going to die," Neptune's face turned horrid as she listened to her. "I believed that because I was a slave, there wouldn't be anyone out there who was willing to save me. But, when Naofumi-sama found me, he treated me as if I wasn't a slave. Sure he looks mean, but I know that he has a good heart. If he's willing to save someone as useless as me, then he's truly a hero." I heard every word that Raphtalia was saying, but I chose not to respond. I could only turn my gaze back towards my work to finish it.

C, SP, and Healing Herbs. Those are the ones that I should be using together. Although I would have preferred to harvest the Healing Herbs because of my Enhance Material, I shouldn't complain. As long as I'm the one who gives her the medicine, then everything should work out. Hopefully, it doesn't do any damage to her.

"Alright, I'm finished." With the finished medicine only giving a blue color to it, I think it's fine to say that the combination was a success. Now, the only thing to do is give her the medicine.

"It's finished?! It's going to work, right?!" I pushed her away because she was too close to my body.

"Yeah, but I don't think this would work for someone who's artificial intelligence. This is the first time I tried healing someone like this, but I hope this works." She had a hopeful look in her eyes, but I can still see some hints of sadness behind those eyes of hers. It's as if she's trying to hide her sadness.

As I stood over Histoire, who was still lying in bed with a small wet towel on her forehead. It appears that whatever kind of sickness she caught, it's starting to worsen by the second. I remember Neptune saying that she's burning up, but I didn't think she would burn up this quickly. "It's worth a try…" Lowering the potion down towards her mouth, I gently opened her mouth, allowing the contents of the potion to be poured. After drinking the potion, I stepped back from her, waiting for something to happen.

She slightly moved.

Neptune walked up to the bed, waiting for something to happen.

Histoire's eyes slightly moved.

Until they slowly opened.

"Nep...tune?" Her sleepy voice had been heard throughout the room, causing me to be surprised. It… actually worked! She sounds as if she woke up from a nap, but I guess that's fine, right? We actually managed to save her!

"Histy!" After Neptune cried out in joy, she jumped on the bed and hugged Histoire. Because of her small figure, the only thing she could hug was her entire body.

"Neptune, it's not that I don't appreciate the gesture, but is everything alright? You're shaking while hugging me!" Sounding awake and nervous, Histoire tried her best to see Neptune's face, only for Neptune to keep hugging her close to her cheek.

"I'm… happy! I'm really happy!" Neptune cried out again. Histoire looked towards Raphtalia and I, only for me to give her a relieved sigh.

"Neptune… are you crying?" She asked her as she felt something wet on her face. Neptune could only nod her head.

"I thought I was going to lose you forever Histy! I'm sorry!" Histoire could only smile as she felt Neptune's tears on her. Here's to say that this rarely happens, huh?

"It's okay, Neptune. I'm very much alright, thanks to the medicine you gave me. I've never felt so drained before…" Okay, as much as this is a go-lucky scene, I should probably hurry up and tell the others that-

"Master~!" With the door slamming open, I heard the voice of a child, before being tackled by a fast-moving object. Now, as I lay on the ground, I could only wonder why my life is becoming weirder and weirder every day.

"Sorry, Naofumi. Filo didn't want to wait around anymore, so she rushed over here when she heard Neptune screaming. Is everything okay? Did the medicine work?" At this point, I don't think Nepgear's apologetic nature is helping me. I could only wish that Filo didn't have to turn into… _this_!

"Master, when are we getting something to eat?! I wanna get food!" A child around the age of twelve or thirteen was in my face right now. Seeing that she looked annoyed, I could only guess that it was a bad thing. Turning big was one thing, but transforming into a child that has blonde hair and blue eyes is another thing! What exactly did I buy from that shady merchant?!

"Um, I would like to recap on everything that I've missed. Naofumi, would you please explain to me why that young girl is calling you 'Master'?" And it appears that I might be the one who's going to be at fault for this, right?

And here I thought stressing out on Neptune's desk was bad enough.

* * *

And so, days went passed. As the news of Histoire's recovery spread to the other nations, I overheard Neptune saying that the other CPUs were going to come over to celebrate. With Histoire being Planeptune's important factor of managing the nation, no wonder Neptune was happy and giddy that she finally recovered. But, even when she did recover, she ordered Neptune to do her work while she was playing her games, in which she was happy to turn off. The amount of shock I saw on Histoire's face made me believe that this wasn't normal. Either way, I shouldn't worry about it. Neptune is her own person.

But, for Raphtalia, Filo, and I, we decided to venture out and gain some levels. We didn't want to just stay around doing nothing, so we eventually decided on joining Planeptune's guild, as to where we met up with IF. Now, the only thing I could say about the guild is that the guild's system is a bit… game-like. First, you end up starting at D rank, the lowest rank, then you have to complete missions within that range of rank. And second, in order to increase rank, you have to complete a mission order that allows you to increase your rank. It's like… six or seven missions before you see that mission order. Weird, but pretty much okay for a guild system. With the amount of time we had, we managed to reach rank C with only levels of thirty to thirty-four.

Even so, Neptune or Nepgear had to come with us sometimes so we didn't go out too far. They basically said that there were some strong monsters in dungeons that could probably wipe the floor with us. Now, of course, I believed her, as I pretty much got my ass kicked by that titan. For both of them, they had certain duties in dungeons to eliminate monsters, so when they come with us, they basically have an easier life.

"I'm in agreement with Neptune's proposal. We've been working separately until now, but we can turn the tides with a move like this." And now, here we are, sitting back in Neptune's room with nothing to do but listen to the complaints of the CPUs. Why… are there so many… people in this room? Especially… that blonde-haired woman named Vert?

"You're right. We might just get the chance to weed out whoever's been distributing strange information, too." Blanc said, a petite girl who wore… a winter coat for some reason? Now, I kept my distance away from the group because I'm not a fan of this… get-together that they have. I shouldn't bring myself into their conversation. But then, why am I even here? Neptune didn't like the fact that I kept leaving everyone to myself, so she brought me here to listen. Of course, I struggled, but why the hell is a loli stronger than me?

"Distributing strange information? You mean like… sneaking in some false rumors?" Neptune asked, wondering what Blanc meant by that. Blanc only nodded her head.

"Someone might've been sending out false rumors about us, causing everyone into a state of mistrust and unease. It's a bit of a stretch, but then again, how else would these rumors spread?" Someone spreading lies about the CPUs, huh? The people who are meant to protect everyone are trying to berate them for some reason… I guess people would always be people after all; annoying and a bunch of bastards. After they protect the people, they only get responses of rumors and lies. It's not so different than my experience…

"I guess while I was in the other world, you all have been investigating this quite a bit. Man, I missed my part of becoming a detective!" Neptune complained. I doubt she would do anything since I already heard that Neptune is extremely lazy. Pushing her work to her sister? Does she just see her sister as some sort of working tool?

"Well, since Neptune decided to break out of her shell to decide on something helpful, let's try throwing this Gamindustri Appreciation Festival!" So, a festival that's gathering all of the nations together? And all of this to get rid of the rumors? Could something like a festival even work? How could this festival even get rid of rumors? I guess I'm going to have to find out, then.

"Okay then, I guess we should all be on our ways to plan out this festival? The tea here was quite wonderful, Neptune, I appreciate you inviting us to join this party. I do hope Histoire doesn't push herself again," The woman named Vert got up from her seat after speaking. However, when she turned to me, she had a surprised look on her face. "Oh, Neptune, I don't believe you introduced us to this young man right here." For the love of God… please help me. Why must this woman notice me now?

"Oh, that's Naofumi! While in the other dimension, I met up with him and his two partners Raphtalia and Fi! You should look at Raphtalia's ears and tail! They are just so cute~!" Did she just say 'Fi'? Was that supposed to be a nickname to Filo? Just… call her by her name, Neptune.

"Naofumi, huh? Well, since this is the first time we met, I guess I'll start with the introductions. My name is Blanc, the CPU of Lowee. It's nice to meet you Naofumi." Lowee, huh? Sounds a bit close to something I used to play…

"And my name is Vert, the CPU of Leanbox. It's a pleasure to meet you, Naofumi." Was it me, or did her 'assets' bounce after saying that? Whatever, for a woman, I'm surprised that she's still standing without her back breaking.

"Likewise." That's the only thing I could say. I didn't want to further anything else as I know they would question about-

"So, Naofumi, how did you meet Neptune? Surely, you have some sort of experience being there, correct?" Close, but not exactly close enough to ask me about _that _damn world.

"...We managed to meet each other after stumbling upon one another. That's all that happened." I left it at that. Even if I told them what happened before going to the new world, why would I need their pity?

"Is that so? Hm, and where are your two partners?" The woman asked again. The more she kept asking me questions, my patience was starting to slip. Why was this woman asking questions about me and my partners? They don't need to know anything else about us, so just leave it at that, will you?

"They're eating right now." Short and simple. However, I saw Vert frown.

"Hm, I guess that appears so, then. Now, this might not be my business, but may I ask why you are away from the group? Are we… perhaps making you feel uncomfortable?" Uncomfortable, huh?

"Everyone has their reasons for the way they act, Vert. Like you said before, it's none of our business, so let's just leave it at that, okay?" I don't need your help, Neptune.

"Did… Neptune just sound mature? Okay, what's been going on through your head, Neptune? You've been acting strange ever since you returned from that new dimension."

"Yeah, Noire's right, Neptune. What's going on through your head? And besides, you didn't even think of a nickname for Naofumi. You _never _use someone's actual name without addressing a nickname first. And this is the first time we met him, too." Seeing that she was being ganged up on, Neptune started to wave her hands frantically with a nervous smile.

"Guys, what are you talking about? I'm me, remember? The protagonist of this series, Neptune! I haven't changed a bit!"

"Well, I guess you're right. I did hear from Histoire that Naofumi here had to make a potion for Histoire since you lost that thing that was originally supposed to help Histoire. I can see that you're still clumsy as ever." She never lost the item. Because I was an idiot, I managed to drop and lose the soulful thing.

"See, Noire's right, guys! I'm the same clumsy and lazy goddess of Planeptune!" Neptune then started to laugh with her hands behind her head. What… was she going on about? Does she normally address herself as being lazy? I can't remember.

"Well, I think I've had enough for today, then. I think we should start headed out to plan out this festival. Thanks for the party, Neptune." With that, Blanc left the room.

"I suppose Blanc's right. We should hurry on deciding on how this festival should go, so I should probably hurry and return to Leanbox." Vert followed behind her.

"Well, try not to ruin your own plan, Neptune. We still need to understand who are the people spreading these rumors." And then Noire left. I get that Neptune is lazy and clumsy, but was it really okay to just berate her like that? Why am I even thinking about this? I should hurry and leave Neptune to her own business so she can work on that festival plan of hers.

"Well, I guess it's time to get back to work, huh? I should… probably hurry and start working now." Turning to her, I could see the frown that was printed on her face. With the amount of work that she has on her desk, it can take her a day to even complete them. This is what she gets for being lazy…

I shouldn't involve myself in her problems. It's hers and hers alone.

"Oi, you need some help with these papers?" She turned to me after sitting down, looking at me as if I was crazy.

"You… want to help me?"

But, even when I shouldn't, she helped me with a lot of things. She did manage to save my life before… so I should probably help when help is needed. Living here, having Neptune and Nepgear help us in the dungeons, and saving my life, these are the things I shouldn't ignore. For an idiot like her to do all this for me, I've got to say… that I'm grateful. Not for me to have a place to stay at, but for Raphtalia and Filo to have a chance to live in a better world.

"Don't get used to it, but I'll help from time to time, so let's just get this over with already." Walking up to her desk, I could only glare at the paperwork and then her. This was going to be a long day. I think I should give Raphtalia and Filo a day off.

They earned it.

Just then, a bright light engulfed the room, causing me to cover my eyes. After the light when out, what replaced Neptune was her transformed state.

"I'm going to have to be a bit more serious to complete this in one day, right? Well, in this form, I feel like I can take these papers head-on!" Wasting her energy to complete mere papers? I can actually see how lazy Neptune is.

"You're seriously an idiot." When she turned to me, I was greeted with a smile.

"And I'll continue to be an idiot until the day I fall, Naofumi." Now, that, I can probably agree on. I can't see the day she'll take her job seriously.

* * *

And so, two months had passed.

Now, the festival was now in action.


	11. Chapter 11

"Naofumi-sama, how are you liking the festival?" As I was sitting down on a bench, Raphtalia, along with Filo, approached me with cotton candy in their hands. Hm. It's been quite a while since I saw those things. My life in that shitty world has only left a bad taste in my mouth…

"For how sudden the idea was, I'm surprised how well it's going. Well, as long as Neptune doesn't slack off in her work, she can make something so random come into play real fast." Watching Filo take a bite out of her pink cotton candy, she squeals in pleasure after eating it.

"Master, this is sooo good! It's called cotton candy!" Smiling, I lowered my hand and patted her head. To that, she smiles widely.

"Well, I already know what that's called Filo. In my world, you will see these most abundant in festivals and parties, you know."

"Really?! Master, did you go to many parties and festivals?!" Going to parties and festivals? I don't really remember going to any parties and festivals. Well, besides birthday parties, one wouldn't see any cotton candy during those things.

"Let's just say that this is my first one. Other than that shitty world, this world is close to how my world is. Raphtalia, what do you think-wait, is something wrong?" Looking towards Raphtalia, I could see her cheeks filled with air. Was she pouting? For what reason?

"Nothing! I was just curious about your world, that's all!" Why would she even be pouting for something like that?

"...Alright. Japan isn't really special, other than the fact that it has technology everywhere. No monsters, and no leveling up. There are no such things as what we're doing here in Japan. Well… besides anime, nothing like this is over there." At this point, I have to really remember that I got Isekai'd. Not once, but twice. No, this should make it three times.

"That… sounds like a peaceful world, Naofumi-sama." I nodded my head before turning towards the people who were walking towards us. And one of the people is Nepgear.

"Naofumi!" She waved, before running towards us. "I'm surprised that you're not walking around and enjoying yourself. Are you not liking the festival?" When she arrived, Uni, who was right behind her, along with two little girls that appeared to be twins smiled at us.

"No, it's not that… I'm just not that type of guy that would be running around that much during parties." To this, Uni raised a brow.

"Really? I've heard from Neptune that you, Raphtalia, and Filo like to go exploring around the world. I've heard that you've already entered nearly all of the dungeons in just two months!" Now she's making us sound like we're some dungeon explorers…

"We have to prepare for the worst, Uni. And to prepare, you have to go out and start leveling up higher to become stronger. That's what I learned from being in that shitty world. It's just a force of habit." Nepgear sighed, before smiling once again.

"Hey, what's your name?! I'm Ram!" The twin with the red colored winter clothing exclaimed loudly.

"And I'm Rom!" And the one in blue winter clothing sounded shy but still happy. And they said all of this to Filo, the person who they were introducing themselves to.

"Filo! My name is Filo!" She happily announced it to them. After introducing themselves, they started to happily chatter amongst themselves. Heh, looks like Filo's going to make some new friends, huh? That… makes me happy at how this world is going to change these two. Sooner or later… I'm going to have to let these two have their own freedom to explore the world on their own. They won't have to have me taking care of them anymore. It's… for the best, after all.

"Want a crepe? I was planning to give one to Nepgear, but I want you to have one, Filo!" Ram handed Filo a crepe that she was holding onto, only for Filo to look at it strangely. After taking a bite of it, her expression brightened.

"It's amazing! Thank you!" Well, looks like they're going to be easy friends. If I remember, those two are Blanc's younger sisters. In a discussion call that I happened to be around to listen because of Neptune, I heard those two causing a ruckus in Blanc's workplace, which was something that Blanc did not favor.

"I'm surprised how well this festival is going! Ever since this festival started, people started to ignore the rumors and are enjoying themselves instead! It's like the rumors never existed! Say, Naofumi, I know this isn't any part of my business, but do you have any other clothes to wear? I've been seeing you wear that armor set for quite some time now…" New clothes, huh? Clothes weren't important to me before in that shitty world, but what kind of clothes are even here? I only have this set because of its high defense stats. Are there even clothes that would help with defense stats?

"No. I haven't thought about new clothes for a while now. Because this set has a high amount of defense, I would usually main this type of clothing."

"It's more different here, Naofumi. Clothes are just outerwear, but when it comes to equipment, you don't have to worry about your appearance changing. The equipment that you have on won't change the clothes that you have on; they are only just stat increases for you." I guess that sounds a whole lot different. To just wear normal clothes for once with high armor doesn't seem so bad.

"Is that so? Alright, after the festival, I'll be sure to bring Raphtalia and Filo along to get some new clothes."

"I agree, Naofumi-sama, it's been quite some time since we've decided to get some new clothing." Raphtalia said while smiling.

"Well, I'm more worried about Filo transforming into that giant Filolial form that could potentially rip off all of her clothing." Filo's been getting new clothes recently because she keeps ripping them apart whenever she transforms. For now, we can't have her transform unless it's important. She's just going to have to deal with Neptune's hoodie for now. I don't understand why she doesn't have any pants under her hoodie, but that's Neptune, I'm not allowing Filo to wear nothing under that hoodie. A skirt with that hoodie is doing fine enough.

"For something so huge, I'm surprised that your sister was able to help out a lot, Nepgear. Say, I've noticed that Neptune's a lot happier than usual. What's been happening since we've been away?" Turning to Uni, Nepgear smiled.

"Well, she's been finishing her work and managing to find some time for her own free time! As her younger sister, I'm really proud of her!" I'm still trying to figure out why Nepgear is the younger sister of Neptune when she acts more mature than her…

"She's been finishing her work?! H-how?!"

"It's because Naofumi-sama decided to help out Neptune with her paperwork." Raphtalia said, interrupting the two." Uni only looked at me with a shocked look. But, before she said anything else, it appeared that she just remembered something.

"Oh! I just remembered, Nepgear! Isn't it almost time for our sisters to begin fighting?!" Oh yeah, that tournament thing that Neptune thought at the last minutes as well. For a festival, I'm just surprised that a tournament is the last thing that she would've thought of to complete it.

"Oh, you're right! I almost forgot about it! We should probably go and hurry!" With that, Nepgear sped off, leaving Uni behind.

"W-wait! Don't forget about me!" Uni rushed off ahead as well, trying to catch up with Nepgear as well.

"Did those two leave us behind again, Rom?! C'mon, let's hurry and catch up with them! We'll be seeing you around, Filo!" After waving goodbye, Ram and Rom sped off ahead as well. All that's left is us now.

Since there are not that many things going around outside, we should probably head towards there too…

* * *

"It's such a lively crowd in here, Naofumi-sama!" As we entered the stadium, we could hear everyone in the stadium cheering on for their CPUs. Black Heart, Purple Heart, Green Heart, and White Heart. Looks like everyone from all of the nations are coming here to see who's going to win. As the CPUs in their transformed state stared down at each other, it appears that the fight was close to about starting.

"Jeez, I'm not that much of a fan of… tight and packed areas." That shitty world really did put a bad taste in my mouth.

"Master, let's go take a seat! I wanna hurry and watch!" With Filo pulling my hand, I was being "dragged" towards the seat where she wanted to stay at. Since Filo was energetic to see this, she wanted us all to sit near the fighting arena. The only one that I've seen fight was Neptune, so it'll be good to see how strong the other CPUs are.

"Naofumi-sama, who do you think will win?" Raphtalia asked while the people continued to cheer on.

"I wouldn't say that I would choose sides. The only one that I've seen fight is Neptune, so I can't choose anyone. All I want to see is how strong they are."

"Purple Heart! Green Heart! Black Heart! White Heart!" Well, I think Filo is already having fun with this. To this, Raphtalia giggled at Filo.

"Well, before everything starts, I'll go get us something to eat. I'll be right back, Naofumi-sama." After nodding my head, Raphtalia stood up to go grab us something to eat. For some reason… it actually feels peaceful. From all of the monsters we've killed, from the people that I've dealt in that shitty world, peace like this is something that I need once in a while.

Wait… who are they? The people that just arrived in the arena? Those… women are trying to interrupt their battle! Damn it, I can't hear what they're saying because of these damn noisy people!

Soon, the unknown women started to change their postures into battle stances. Who… who the hell are those damn women?! And why the hell are they trying to fight them?! I thought Neptune and the others were the only ones in the finals! They… those women are not supposed to be here!

"Excuse me, is something the matter?" Hearing a woman's voice, I turned my gaze towards the woman who spoke to me. On her head, she wears a hood to cover her face. If anything, she has suspicion written all over her body.

"What, don't tell me you people are clouded in the head enough to notice that something strange isn't going on around here. Those… women are not supposed to be in that fight." I found it odd; she's sitting in Raphtalia's seat, and I didn't even notice her there. Who the hell-

"Clouded, you say? I guess you can call it that. People love the rush of the CPUs fighter, after all. It doesn't matter if these new appearances aren't supposed to be in the ring. As long as the people get to see a fight, then whatever should be the problem?" What is she getting at? And what's with that strange smile that she has on her face.

Wait, why aren't the people cheering anymore?

Turning back around to look at the arena, I noticed that the CPUs were scratched up with injuries. They lost?! But how?!

"And just like that, the people who rely on the CPUs to protect them are now "clouded" with doubt. I've been waiting for this moment for years. Dear Naofumi, you should understand that anywhere you go, all that will happen is chaos. Now, I believe that you have something to do, correct?" Who the hell… how the hell does she-!

"Stop this!" Hearing a familiar voice, I looked down at the arena to find… wait, it's that older-looking Neptune! How the hell-no, something isn't right here! I'm going to have to help them!

"Filo, transform now! We're going to help Neptune and the others!" With a confirmed nod, Filo transformed into her giant Filolial form. After hopping on her, she jumped towards the arena. But before we could even reach the floor, a bright light engulfed the arena, swallowing Neptune and us along with them.

What…?!

Why the hell is this happening?!

* * *

*Tick!*

*Tick!*

"Master, please wake up!" After opening my eyes, I was greeted with the sight of Filo in her Filolial form.

"What… the hell happened? Where are we, Filo?"

"You're in Lastation, Naofumi." Looking to my left, I saw Noire standing right beside me. Based on her posture, which consisted of her crossing her arms while leaning on the wall, she was visibly upset.

"Noire…? How long have I been out?" Standing back up, I looked around to notice that we've been standing in the middle of an alleyway. For what reason is the CPU of this nation in an alleyway?

"For about 5 hours. And since you've been out for that long, I doubt that you know what's going on, right?"

"5 hours?! What the hell happened while I was out?! And what am I doing in Lastation when we were in Planeptune?"

"I would like to know as well, but I'm all out of ideas. Now that I'm apparently a criminal to my own people, I barely have the chance to sit around and think about what's been going on." Wait, criminal? And to her own people?!

"Wait, what do you mean criminal? Shouldn't the people know that you rule over-"

"For whatever reason, not a single person remembers me other than you and Uni. I… wanted to figure out what happened, but all I enraged responses from my own people. They've been shouting out that I'm working for some evil organization or something like that." That… almost sounds exactly how I was treated…

"And? Where's Uni? Have you gotten to contact with the other CPUs? And I need to find out where Raphtalia is, too." Raphtalia… she has to be okay, right? No, knowing her, she can handle herself. I'm just going to have to find her.

"I haven't seen Raphtalia, but I did manage to contact Neptune and the others. They don't know what's been going on either. As far as I know, we're in the dark. Because…I'm a "criminal", I had to get Uni away from me because she'll be in danger if she continued to stay at my side."

"Then, what's the plan, Noire? If you're a criminal, then we're going to have to find a way to gather information without you being spotted." Sighing, she rested her head on the brick wall behind her.

"I don't know. I'm all out of options, Naofumi." Yeah… I can understand what it feels like to be confused when the people are entirely against you…

"Okay, if anything, we're going to have to do something about Raphtalia and Uni. Before we start gathering intel, we should find Uni and Raphtalia first. Maybe they might've found something about this problem." Standing away from the wall, she looked at me with a nervous smile.

"Yeah… you're probably right. Let's hurry and find them, then." She was about to walk out of the alleyway, but there's one thing that she didn't notice.

"Wait, Noire!" After calling her name, she stopped to turn to me.

"What's wrong? We shouldn't waste any more time, you know." She's right, but just walking out in the open is the worst thing that a criminal should do. For me, I could give less of a shit because I'm the Shield Hero, they couldn't arrest me. But for Noire, she might get arrested or even killed on sight.

"Before walking out in the open, here." Walking in front of her face, her face reddens a bit for some reason.

"What are you-" She closed her eyes for some reason too.

"Look, just stop talking for a second." Reaching for the cloths that holds her pigtails, I loosened them, allowing her hair to flow freely. Opening her eyes, she felt the back of her hair, feeling the loose hair run freely.

"Why did you do that? You didn't have to-"

"If you're a criminal, then you're going to have to change your appearance. Just walking around like a casual person will only result in getting yourself arrested. Now, let's hurry up and go." Walking past her, I looked around to see guards looking at another direction to our left. After looking around, I walked back into the alleyway.

"Looks like we're clear to move on. Noire, if you see anyone suspicious looking at you, divert your eyes somewhere else. We can't afford to have ourselves being suspicious."

"O-okay, then. T-thank you, by the way…" I nodded my head.

"I like your hair, Noire! It's really nice~!" Filo complimented her.

"T-thanks, Filo."

"Let's hurry. The more time we waste, the-oof!" After walking out of the alleyway, I collided with someone.

"Ow…" Looking at the person I collided with, I noticed that it was… great, another woman. What is the ratio of males to females in this world? Seriously, why does it appear that women rule over men? Wait, why does this woman look familiar? Black hair, wearing a red and white dress… I haven't talked to her before, but I feel like I've seen her from somewhere.

"Naofumi, you have to be more careful! Miss, are you okay?" Noire walked to the woman, seeing if she was alright because she was on the floor right now. I was sure there wasn't anyone here, so where the hell did she come from?

"Huh? Oh, thank you so much!" Taking Noire's hand, she stood back up. "My name is K-Sha, it's nice to meet you!" She seems really excited to introduce herself after taking a fall.

"Huh? Oh, I'm No-I mean-" And introducing yourself is one of the worst things that you can do as a criminal as well…

"Look, excuse me, K...Sha, right? We're trying to look for our friends and we happened to get lost. Could you help us out?" To this, K-Sha started to giggle.

"I already know who you are, Noire. It's very much nice to meet you!" She recognized Noire instantly?! Well, she only has her hair down, so I'm pretty sure that anyone could still recognize her. We're going to have to find something that can change her appearance… new clothes probably.

"N-Noire?! I-I'm not-"

"It's fine, Noire, I'm not going to tell anyone else, I promise," Not going to call the authorities? Why does she know Noire, and what's she planning? "Anyway, you were asking to find your friends, right? In that case, I'll be happy to-"

"Nevermind, I think we can find them ourselves. You can hurry and go along with your life. Let's go, Noire." We can't affiliate ourselves with her. One, she looks strangely familiar, two, she already knows Noire, and three, she's not planning on telling the authorities. All of those facts lead to suspicion. We can't trust that woman… she'll soon do something that'll be stupid.

"Naofumi, shouldn't we just-"

"Is that a giant bird?! It looks so pretty!" Noticing Filo, she walked closer to her to touch her feathers. Damn, because of Filo's giant form, she might gather attention towards us. I can't have her change back because she won't have any clothes on.

"Excuse me, K-Sha, can you explain why you're here?" Noire asked.

"Huh? Oh, this is the way back to my house! I was about to head there, but… I wasn't looking and I… knocked into… um, excuse me, sir, what is your name?" I didn't respond, all I could do was glare at her form. This will just be like _that _woman. She'll try to take this situation for her own benefit because we're in a tight situation, only to betray us soon. I can't allow that to happen to me again. I can't.

"It doesn't matter. Noire, let's hurry and move, we can't waste our time with someone suspicious." After starting to walk away, it was until I felt someone grab my hand that I had to stop.

"Wait! I'm not trying to-" Snatching my hand away, I hardened my glare.

"Don't touch me. I don't trust you, and that's all there is to it." Even while speaking to her coldly, she had a determined look in her eyes.

"I want to help you! You might not trust me, but I'm willing to help! I'm trying to-"

"Excuse me, is everything alright here?" Hearing a man's voice, we all turned to look at the man who spoke. But, after taking a look at the man, my eyes widened. I wasn't shocked that the man had suddenly sneaked up on us, I was shocked at the person who was holding the man's hand.

"Raph...talia?!" Looking at her, she wasn't wearing the clothes that she once wore in that shitty world. Instead, she was wearing modern clothing that consisted of a long-sleeved black and white shirt, with knee-high socks. She was probably wearing shorts under her shirt, but that's besides the point! Why the hell was she walking with this man that we haven't met?!

"How… how do you know my name?" She asked as if she didn't know who I was.

"Raphtalia, what are you talking about? How wouldn't I know your name? And who's this guy? And besides that-" Before I could say anything else, the man moved Raphtalia behind him, as if he was trying to protect her… from me?

"Hey, what's the big idea?! How about you start identifying yourself?! I don't know what you're on about, but Raphtalia's mine, you hear?!" What… the hell is he talking about?! Raphtalia being his?! What kind of shit is this guy fucking on?!

"Raphtalia, do you not recognize Naofumi? You two had been together since we've met." I heard Noire ask. Suddenly, the man turned to Noire and widened his eyes.

"Wait, you're that criminal Noire! That black hair, that dress, those red eyes! You're working for that organization that's trying to wipe out Lastation! And this man is your ally, too?! Guards! Guards, come quick! I found Noire!" As he started to scream, guards from behind him heard his cries before sprinting towards us. No… what is going on?

"Raphtalia, don't you remember me?! I rescued you from that shady slave master! We've been fighting against the Waves in that shitty-" Seeing Raphtalia's eyes widen, it wasn't from realization.

It was from fear.

"Slave?! What are you talking about?! I was never a slave, to begin with!" The soldiers… they're coming closer!

"Raphtalia… please, you have to remember us! We need your help! It's me, Filo, and Master!" Filo tried to make her remember, but Raphtalia only shook her head angrily.

"I don't know a big bird named Filo! I don't know any of you!" Why… why doesn't she remember us?!

"You damn criminals! I hope you all rot in hell!" The man yelled, before grabbing Raphtalia and running away from us. Criminals?

Why…?

"Naofumi, the soldiers are coming! We can't stay here!" I heard Noire's voice, but I couldn't find it in myself to run. I only continued to look at Raphtalia's running form. When she turned back, the expression on her voice revealed a face of confusion.

"Why is this happening?" I asked no one.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

I wasn't supposed to be a criminal!

I didn't do anything wrong!

Why… why the hell is this happening to me again?!

Before I could do anything else, I felt a tug on the back of my cape. I… lost Raphtalia? I'm… a criminal again? How… why did this happen?

"Master, we have to hurry!" As Filo began to tug on my cape with her mouth, I was starting to get carried by Filo.

This… was supposed to be a world where I could finally find peace!

And… now, all I have is chaos again.

Raphtalia… she's free to go, isn't she?

She doesn't have to deal with my problems anymore, right? She's… free to live her own life… with another man.

She has freedom… while I am still trapped inside the bird's cage.


	12. Chapter 12

'"Neptune… you managed to get into contact with me? But how?" Sitting on the bed in K-Sha's room, Noire speaks out in surprise because of Neptune's random call. Noire was sure that they had lost contact with one another earlier, so, what's making them have reception?

"_Heya' Noire! Oh, don't mind me, I don't even know how I have any reception either! Maybe it has to do with the fact that I'm in Planeptune's Basilicom. Anyway, how's it going on your end?" _Noire stared at the holographic call that looked almost close to hanging up. Taking a deep breath, she started to speak again.

"It's not looking good, Neptune. Not a single person remembers me, Neptune! You know, the ruler of Lastation?! Instead, all I keep hearing is that I'm working with some criminal organization that might be the cause of all this mess." The holographic Neptune could only rest her hand on her cheek.

"_Oh yeah, I heard from a reporter that you're apparently a criminal! Noire, what exactly is going on over there? And what about Uni? Did you get into contact with her?" _Just remembering what she had to do in order to keep Uni safe was starting to get under Noire's skin. She had to leave her own sister in the hands of her own people so she didn't get hurt because of her. Hopefully, Noire wishes, that Uni had found a way to escape from them.

"I don't know, Neptune. I just… can't seem to find a reason as to why this is happening to us. Not only am I being treated as a criminal, I can't even enter my own Basilicom! I won't be able to find anything out if I'm not in my Basilicom!"

"_Seriously? Well, what about Kei? Can't you get into contact with her?" _Noire shook her head.

"Even if I could, I doubt that she would be able to remember me."

"_You're probably right. Well, Histoire is able to remember us because of her… artificial thingy and stuff that she's been talking about. But as expected, when I came into contact with Iffy, she couldn't remember me. That… kind of hurts, you know? But, even then, I have to do something! I'm going to try my hardest to make sure Iffy remembers me!" _Noire could applaud Neptune's enthusiasm, but for Neptune, she wasn't treated as a criminal. She was free to do whatever she wanted in her nation while she had to suffer to her own people.

"Did Hisoire say anything to you that could possibly give you a clue as to what's happening?"

"_Oh yeah, she did say something about this Affimax group that could be the reason as to why this is happening. But, she did also say something about this group called the Gold Third ruling over the nations now, too." _Hearing that, it started to make Noire even more annoyed. She, the ruler of Lastation has been brought down to this circumstance, where she could do nothing but hide away from her own people, is being overruled by some RANDOM GROUP?! While the group did sound familiar a bit, she didn't bring too much thought into it as she was busy having negative thoughts of said group.

"Neptune, look-"

"_By the way Noire, have you seen Naofumi, Raphtalia, and Filo? I wish I could contact them, but they don't even own a phone! Well, I'm sure Naofumi said he was planning on buying one himself soon, but he hadn't told me anything else after that. So, have you seen them?" _Noire had to pause her thoughts for that instance.

"_Noire? Something wrong?" _

"Neptune… yes, I did manage to find Naofumi and Filo. The two of them were in fact sleeping near an alleyway before they woke up everyone has forgotten about me, Naofumi and Filo stills remember us." Seeing Neptune's face brightened a bit, it soon faltered when she noticed something Noire hadn't said.

"_Wait, what about Raphtalia? Did they get separated?" _Noire opened her mouth a bit, before closing it. After what happened to Naofumi, could she really say it to Neptune?

"Neptune… what is the relationship between them? I mean, all three of them. How close are they?" Instead of giving her an answer, Noire needed to be sure that Raphtalia was someone _really _close to Filo and Naofumi.

"_Huh? What's going on, Noire? That's… what happened to Raphtalia?" Neptune clearly ignored her question, only to bring forward her previous question. _

"Neptune, why are you so distant with him? Ever since you came back from that other dimension, you've been acting weird ever since he got here. Has he… has he got something over you?"

"_No! No that's… he has nothing over me, Noire. It's just that… he's been through a lot, Noire…" _Noire sighed, not wanting to push anything else on her. With the way she's acting now, Neptune will never tell Noire anything about Naofumi. And asking him… seemed problematic. Looking away from the screen, Neptune found her attention elsewhere.

"She doesn't remember him, Neptune. We met up, and she treated Naofumi and Filo like total strangers." After speaking, Neptune didn't say anything. With her bangs getting in the way of her eyes as she was looking to the side, Noire couldn't read Neptune's expression.

"_...What?" It was a simple question, yet, Noire felt like Neptune had asked that with a demanding tone. Of course, this wasn't like Neptune at all. _

"She was… with another man, Neptune. And that man… said that "Raphtalia was his", or something like that. Filo had to force him to come with us because he wouldn't move." Again, Neptune had a pause before she spoke.

"_...And what about Naofumi and Filo? Where are they, Noire?" _

"..."

"_Noire-" _

"RaaaaaaAAAGH!" The sound of metal breaking was heard in the background

* * *

Why?

'_So, even if the world speaks ill of you, I'll tell them that they're wrong.'_

Why?

'_I'll tell them again and again that you're a wonderful person.' _

Why?!

'_I am your sword.' _

'_**We should have never had summoned the Shield Hero!' **_

'_I will follow you through fire and brimstone.' _

'_**He raped royalty?!'**_

'_**If you weren't the Shield Hero, I would be bringing you behind bars without any second thoughts.'**_

"RaaaaaaAAAGH!" I slammed my fist down on the table in front of me, letting out my anger once again. Glaring at the table, I couldn't help but be upset at the world, people… and myself. Even when I heard the door open slightly, I still had my focus on the table.

'_**Whatever is the matter, Shield Rapist?' **_

"Shut the hell up!" I turned around angrily, directing all of my hatred towards the _**woman **_who said that to me. She looks at me scared as if she did nothing wrong. Hah! Fuck her! Like the hell she didn't do anything wrong!

"Naofumi… please, you have to-"

"Get the hell away from me you damn bitch!" I won't trust any of them! They dare make a fool out of me! Manipulate, cheat, and abandon me!

"Naofumi, it's me, K-Sha! Please, calm-"

"And what, make a fool out of me? I know how you women play: you try to get on my good side, then, when I let my guard down for even a second, you all just turn your backs against me! And for what?! To watch me suffer?! Have a good laugh with everyone because I'm retarded to trust a woman?!" Getting up from the chair I was sitting on, I started to approach her. The woman that dared make a fool out of me again!

"Naofumi, you're not thinking-" She started to back away, but I didn't care.

"No, I _am _thinking straight! You and everyone else is planning to disrespect me at any moment! The moment you realized that I was the Shield Hero, you were already ready to scheme against me! I should've known this the moment I've laid my eyes on you!"

"What's going on here?!" Right when I was in front of K-Sha's face, another woman had to come into the play. She looked at me angrily, of course, why wouldn't they? Everyone wants to look at me as if I was lower than them!

"Noire! Please, can you help him-"

"Naofumi," She started, making sure she focused her glare at me. "Now is not the time to start-"

"What do you want? Came here to laugh at how miserable I am too? Well, go ahead! Get your sick fucking laughs in already!"

"No, Naofumi, nobody's laughing at you. K-Sha, do you hear anybody laughing? Because I'm sure that there's no one in this room laughing at you." K-Sha nodded her head in agreement with Noire. Of course, women always want to play their damn plans against me. Because I'm a "rapist", all these women and people want nothing from me but to suffer!

Just like _**her**_!

"You need to calm down, Naofumi. I know what happened between you and Raphtalia was heart-breaking, but you need to get back on your feet and take this situation seriously. We're criminals, Naofumi. And if we don't find a way to bring my people back to their-"

"Don't talk as if you understand me!" Noire sighed and K-Sha took a step back.

"You're right, I don't understand you, Naofumi. I don't know your background, I don't know about your life, and I especially don't know where you came from. But, even when I don't know all of your information, for some reason, Neptune does. Now, can you tell me why you're-" She took a step forward to me, reaching her arm out to me…

'_Even if you can't trust anyone anymore, I trust-'_

"Don't touch me! Don't you dare fucking touch me!" I slapped her hand away. I won't let them touch me anymore! I won't let them touch me! They're fucking liars! Every single one of them!

"Naofumi!" Before K-Sha could take a step forward, Noire held her hand out in front of her.

"K-Sha… don't," With her slapped hand now clenched, her glare now tightens. "Naofumi… please, explain to me what's wrong. With everything happening, I'm starting to us, I'm starting to get a bit angry for my own liking. Now, let's speak to one another with calm voices and-"

"Shut up." Noire raised her eyebrow while K-Sha flinched.

"Excuse me?" She asked. Do I have to repeat myself?

"I said-" Before I could say anything else, I felt a sudden sting on the right side of my cheek.

"Who do you think you're talking to?! All we wanted to do is help you! Pushing us away like this won't help _anyone_! I know losing Raphtalia is hard for you, but we're trying our best to find out why this is happening to us! You just need to calm down and help us so we can get Raphtalia's memories back!"

"Raphtalia's memories?"

"Yes, Naofumi. Like everyone in the world, they don't remember about us. Neptune's having the same problem, Naofumi. IF doesn't remember her, and she's trying her hardest to get her memories back. We just need to take it slow, and find a way to get everyone's memories-"

"Memories of what? Memories of being my slave, so she decided to run away? Of course she would, it's because I'm nothing but a weakling that uses a shield, right? It's because she found someone else that's stronger, more capable, someone that's not the Shield Hero, that she decided to leave me! I trusted her, and she lied to me! The person that I raised, the person who I trusted the most in that world… lied to me!" Again, I felt a sting on my face.

"A… slave? I asked Neptune about your relationship, but… never would I have thought that you… held her for your slave!" Of course, because of my defense, the stinging on my face didn't hurt that much. But, for her to hit me… is starting to anger me…

"What would you know about us? What would you know about the world that I was-"

"I know enough to understand that you're disgusting! I don't care what kind of crap you've endured from where you came from, you can't-"

"And do what?! Have all of the monsters in that world kill me because I can't attack? Because I was weak, I should've just killed myself and let everything go on as it was?! You're calling me disgusting because I held a slave?! Ha! You and those trash people would get along just fine!"

"Why? Why did you make Raphtalia into your slave?! She's a sweet girl, so why make her your slave?!"

"_That half-racoon is diseased and has a mental disorder. Her previous owner loved his torture, you see." _

"_Naofumi-sama! Please, don't die! Please don't leave me alone!" _

"...Why does it matter anymore? If I knew my trust was going to be tampered with again, then I would've have brought her with me. For all this time, she kept manipulating me…"

"_Oi, I asked you for your name. Tell me it already. _

"_Do you want one of those balls?" _

"_**H-huh?! N-not at all! I absolutely do not want one!" **_

"_**Wherever you go, I follow." **_

Shut up! I'm tired of hearing these damn lies! Every word she spoke to me were nothing but lies!

"Disgusting! Absolutely disgusting!" Noire's glare started to harden, making sure that she shows how disgusted she was with me.

"N-Noire…" K-Sha, who hadn't said anything, was about to reach out for Noire, only to retract her hand.

"If it was me, then I would've already put you into-"

"_**-into prison! How foolish you are to think that you can just come here and rape a woman! Unforgivable! If you weren't the Shield Hero, you'll be rotting in prison, no, you'll be decapitated from where you stand!" **_

"-I can't believe that Neptune wanted to-"

"_**-summon the Shield Hero to this world! If we knew how vile he was at heart, we wouldn't have bothered to bring him here! He deserves everything that's being thrown at him!" **_

I opened my eyes, seeing that nothing surrounds me, no one surrounds me, and all I can do is stand here, alone and beaten down into the ground.

Is this really going to happen to me again? Where everyone's going to hate me… because I wanted to survive?! I wanted to survive in a world that wants nothing to do with me… and I continue to have this kind of treatment!

Why is it that fate wants to keep toying with me?! I've never asked to become the Shield Hero! I've never asked to be summoned to that shitty world! And now, even when I'm in a new world, I'm still getting all of this bullshit! I'm… a criminal again! In a world that doesn't know about the Shield Hero, I'm back to being a criminal!

Why was it that I had to endure this! Why did I have to endure everyone's damn hatred?! What did I do to deserve this?! Is it even because of the shield at this point?! Is it because I'm Naofumi Iwatani, that I had to be the center of everyone's rage?! The center of the laughing stock?! The center of God's amusement?!

_**DO yOu haTE 3VerythING? **_

Hate?

_**HATE eVerTHInG IN THis WORld? YOur LIfe? ThE PeoPle?**_

It's like I was transferred from one pain to another. If I hadn't chosen to come here, then, none of this would've happened. I would be in a dimension where there are no people to deal with. Because of my decision, I'm here, suffering once again because… I'm Naofumi Iwatani, the criminal with the shield.

If… I hadn't existed… then I wouldn't have to endure so much pain again.

_**ThEre'S NoThING YOU CAn Do, So GivE Up! RelieVE YouRSeLF WiTH YoUR OWn InAcTiviTy to DO NOthing! **_

It doesn't matter where I go, I will soon be the criminal that everyone sees in me. Escape from that shitty world? There never was an escape. From the moment I was brought to that shitty world, my fate was sealed. I'm a criminal and rapist, so what's the point of even trying to make them believe me? What's the point of trying to convince myself that I'm not one? Criminal. I'm… a criminal that doesn't deserve to live. I manipulated people for my own gain.

There's no point in survival if my life continues to be like this. Why was I even being hopeful?

"Why did I think that a new world was going to help me?"

"What?" I accidentally spoke out loud, but I didn't care. Who even cared about me? The one person that I trusted already left because she noticed how weak and criminal I was, so what's the point?

"Get up, Naofumi," When was I looking down at the floor? "I don't know what Neptune sees in you… but I'm willing to give you another chance at my thoughts. Help me get to the bottom of this, and I won't do anything that I had planned out for you."

She's going to betray you, Naofumi. That's what all women do, right? Pick you up because you're weak, only to soon drop you down into the ground once again when people are watching. She's going to have her entire nation hear about me… laugh at me, mock me…

"N-Noire… I think we should listen to his story." I heard K-Sha speak. And what, listen to it so they could laugh at me?

"What, K-Sha? You're telling me that we should listen as to how he made Raphtalia into his-"

"Y-yes, that's exactly what I'm saying, N-Noire. You might not have noticed it, Noire… but look at his eyes? When I was talking to him, I could see the rage that he was trying to keep within himself."

"He was ready to lash out at you, K-Sha! You didn't do anything, and he was going to-"

"I… I've never seen a man hold those eyes before. Not only was there anger in them, but there was also sadness. He must've experienced something terrible, Noire. Wouldn't it be ignorant to not hear him out?" Don't listen to them, Naofumi. They're trying to scheme against you, play you, toy with your emotions because they know how weak you are!

"...He's a criminal, K-Sha! He… made an innocent woman become his slave!"

"I know… but w-when I noticed how sad Naofumi and Filo looked when Raphtalia didn't remember them, it didn't look like they were a slave-like relationship. I-It was… like saying goodbye to your friend that you don't even remember… and that hurt Filo and Naofumi, Noire."

"..." I didn't hear Noire anymore. Instead, for a couple of minutes, I heard the sound of a dial being pressed. But, after that, the sound of a door creaking could be heard.

"Master?" I heard the voice of a little girl, a girl that sounded shaken, scared, and confused. I looked up, and saw a girl with brown hair, raccoon ears and tails. I felt my eyes widen in reflex, but that soon changed when the little girl's form changed into a girl with blonde hair.

"Fi...lo.." Looking at her, I could tell that had been crying. Because of her reddened eyes, I could easily tell that.

"Master!" After running to my side, I felt her small arms wrap around my torso. I wanted to say her name again so I could register who was hugging me, but no words were able to come out of my mouth. All that came out was nothing but dead air.

"_Noire? Is everything going okay over there?" _In a call, I heard the voice of Neptune.

"Neptune… I won't say this again, tell me everything you know about these two." Noire demanded.

"_Noire… you're going to have to ask-" _

"Naofumi, I'm going you a chance to tell me before I ask Neptune herself. Now, you can be a man and talk to us about your problem, or I'm going to get an answer from Neptune. I would prefer you tell me because you're the only person who knows about your own problem. Well?"

"It doesn't matter what happened to me in that shitty world. I'm a criminal, I'm a rapist, I'm a slaveholder… so what's the point of you listening to all this garbage about me? This life of mine is only a waste of-" I felt someone's hand cover my mouth so I could stop talking. I… don't even have the strength to move it. I… just want to die.

"There you have it, Neptune. I'll be expecting you to give me a full answer, right?" I didn't even hear Neptune's voice for some time.

"_...Okay, I'll tell you everything I know. But, after I tell you this, I want you to promise me some things, Noire." _

"Promises? Alright then, let's hear them." Neptune could be heard taking a deep breath.

"_Whatever I tell you, please, do not hate Naofumi. He's had it rough, Noire. I could tell from the moment he talked to me. The way he talked to Uzume, the way he talked about Raphtalia, the way he talked about his experiences… only told me that he's suffering." _

"...It'll depend on what I'm going to be hearing, Neptune. What's next?"

"_I want you to help him, Noire. I know that everything with this criminal thing is getting to you, but Naofumi shouldn't have to deal with this kind of pain. Please Noire, find it in your heart to give him a chance. Even if he looks or acts rude, he deserves a chance. I believe that he wasn't always like this, Noire. Something about the world he came from had made him into this type of man." _

"That's because you're naive, Neptune. What if he was always like this?"

"_No… I can tell he wasn't. When he talked to me, he never thought of himself as a criminal. Every word, every snarky attitude, and in every stare at us, I could tell he was crying out for help. I wouldn't call myself being naive, Noire. I just… see the good in people's hearts, you know? It's… kind of like a superpower I have instead of being a goddess. He, along with Filo, could be hurting because of Raphtalia not remembering them. Have you ever thought that they looked like a family, Noire?" _

"...I suppose."

"_You know, Noire? I've never thought of what it was like to have a family. Well, I have you, Iffy, Compa, and everyone else as my family… but I just wonder to myself: "had I ever had a family before this whole goddess thing"? The thought keeps slipping, but when I look at Naofumi and his group… I can't help but keep that thought in my head. And… instead of losing pudding, instead of having my own friends forget about me… what hurts the most… is seeing a family split apart from one another." _

"Neptune…"

"_Please, help him get Raphtalia's memories back. I would love to help, but Histy wants me to stay and fight off these strange monsters that kept on appearing in my nation." _Moving her hand away from my mouth, she sighed.

"K-Sha, have Naofumi get some rest. We'll be leaving out soon after I'm done talking to Neptune."

"O-okay," I heard K-Sha carefully speak. Soon, when I felt a hand on my shoulder, I instantly flinched back.

"Don't… touch me!" I wanted to raise my voice higher, but I was starting to feel groggy. Since… when was I ever this weak? Right… I was always this weak. I only relied on Raphtalia because I needed somebody to fight for me.

She was a tool for me to use.

And that realization was the only thing that bites me in the back.

"She… deserves her freedom. It's better for her to just walk off with some other guy that can treat her better than me. Everyone hates me… so why not join in the fun and hate myself as well?"

"Master, Raphtalia doesn't hate you! We care about you, Master, so don't be sad!" I felt Filo's arms around me tighten.

"Just leave me, Filo. Go ahead and enjoy your freedom. Anything's better than being here with me…" I felt the hand wrap under my arm, but I couldn't do anything about it. I'm too weak to do anything.

"No! I'm not going anywhere without Master! I'm not leaving without you, Master!" She says that she won't leave me, but I already heard this before. Soon, she will leave me.

"Come on, Naofumi. It's time to get some rest." I wanted her to get off of me, but I couldn't. If I'm going to get betrayed soon, then, it's just better if they just get it over with. I don't care anymore; I've already accepted this fate of mine.

No matter where I go, I can never escape my fate.

**(A/N)**

**Hrm. I guess Naofumi is going to be changing a bit, huh? **


	13. Chapter 13

_C&*$^(%)* #& *! &(#&( *!&!() #&) Sloth*( &!&(& ^!&_

_ ()*&_

"Naofumi… you must eat. Do you not want to eat anymore? You'll be sick if you don't…" There was a sound of tapping. The tapping continued to happen; continued until the tapping was satisfied and finished. "Naofumi… do you know how many days it's been? Please, you have to eat!" Days? I… lost track of them. Minutes… minutes turn toward an hour… twenty-four hours in a day…

Then, the tapping stopped.

"Master…" I turned to my left, seeing Filo waiting sitting down right next to me with tears in her eyes.

"Filo…" Filo, yes, I remember her. She… was an egg before, right? I… bought her from a slaveholder, right? Slave? Slave… slave… slave…

"Naofumi." There was a woman here; in fact, there were two of them. Why are they here? Humiliate me? Laugh at me? Pity me? Who even were these women?

"...What?" I speak, barely recognizing my own voice. How long has it been since I even spoke? Had I spoken3 to Filo during these days? Why… can't I remember?

"Here." The woman threw something at me; however, even when I knew this, I didn't catch it. I was too tired to even move a finger at this point. Looking down at the object that was thrown in my lap, I noticed that it was… clothes?

"...Why clothes?" I asked, looking at the black hoodie and black sweatpants. Did that woman have to fold them up?

"You must've been stupid in that other world if you think wearing the clothes that you were found in is a good idea. We're trying to not get caught, remember?" Not get caught? Oh yeah, I forgot that I was a criminal in this world, too…

"...What are you implying, Woman?" She stood with her hands crossed, almost as if she was annoyed for some reason. Why am I even surprised? Women always look at me with disgust, anyway.

"Get up, Naofumi, we're going out for a walk." What are her intentions? Asking me to go out at a time like this? When I looked at my menu, I could see the time. Isn't it morning? People are mostly active at this time, and she's asking me to go and walk out at a time like this?

"...I'd rather pass. I'm not going to be led to a random place where I'll be ridiculed at." The woman sighed in frustration. That was her plan all along, huh? It's a shame that she won't be having that plan executed.

"Naofumi, all I ask is that we go out for a walk. No K-Sha-" "N-Noire! Why can't I come with you?!" "-but Filo can come. Now, if you don't come willingly, forcing you up wouldn't be a bad idea. You wouldn't want to be seen with a woman holding you bridal style, right? Or even dragged? Surely, one of those ideas might cause some people to laugh and stare at you."

Curse this damn woman. Why am I even talking to her as if I know her? I sure as hell don't know some bitch with black-haired pigtails. The hell does she even want to talk about?

"...Tch. Get out so I can change. That includes you, Filo." If these clothes fit me, how the hell does she even know my measurements? And more importantly, where the hell did she get these clothes? I wouldn't expect a woman to hold mens clothing, so where did she get them from?

Why the hell am I even thinking about this?

"So, Naofumi, is there anything that you want to eat?" Why is this woman trying to take me out to eat something? I'm not even hungry, so why even bother?

"I'm not hungry." I spoke, trying to not let my anger show. Trying to repress my anger was hard enough; even when I'm tired, it's hard enough to maintain a calm demeanor. With this many people around, they would start to notice us I gave them some weird look. This wasn't that shitty world; I'm in a world where people are smarter than those trash.

"Yes, yes, I noticed from the fact that you hadn't eaten anything that K-Sha and I provided to you while you were… in a trance for some reason. So, I think a cafe's fine, what do you think, Filo?" Trance, huh? I don't remember waking up that much after taking a nap… one day.

"Um… if Master's okay with it, then…" Her stomach rumbled, having us understand that she was hungry.

"It's okay, Filo, if you're hungry, then tell us, okay? Let's go get some breakfast!" For some reason, she seemed excited to get some food in the morning. Wasn't she just pissed off at me a few minutes ago? It's stupid how a woman can change so easily…

"O-okay…" Why did Filo sound so… exhausted? Is she feeling well? Hopefully, she hasn't caught anything.

"Oi, what do you want from me? You asked me to come out for a walk, and we're getting breakfast instead? What the hell are you planning?" I looked around, noticing people walking by us without any problems. With my hood on, it makes sense that they wouldn't be able to recognize me. Since Filo is in her human form and wearing a sundress, it makes sense that they wouldn't be able to recognize her either.

"Could you relax for a minute? Ever since you experienced that… event from a few days ago, you haven't walked outside at all. We all have been trying to get you out of bed, but you keep deciding to go against the idea. It's time to wake up Naofumi." We found ourselves standing in front of the cafe; for something like a cafe, I would've expected something a bit smaller, but I guess this is fine. Besides… it's been a while since I've seen a cafe as modern as this.

"'Wake up'? I've been awake this entire time, and all I've seen is a woman trying to play tricks on me again. Now, explain to me the real reason why you brought me out here. I still, and won't trust you. Ever."

"Yes. Oh, and I have someone coming late so-" I felt my eyebrow twitch when I noticed that she wasn't paying attention to anything that I was saying. Instead, she was talking to the waiter who had suddenly appeared in front of our table. When the hell did we even get inside the building to begin with?!

"I'm sorry, Naofumi, you were saying something?" I pinched the bridge of my nose, already showing my frustration in the first few seconds of being inside a cafe.

"What do you want, Woman?" It's funny. I hadn't noticed it until now, but instead of her usual black hair, she had put on a red-haired wig to hide it. And what's with the weird dress up? Wearing a pink and white dress? For what reason? Wouldn't casual clothes be normal?

"H-hey, you better not be taking a picture with your mind!"

"The hell do I look like taking a picture of a woman in my mind? I would rather have a recording in my mind that explains why the hell you brought me out in the middle of-"

"You know, I had experienced a lot while you've been… inactive Naofumi," I crossed my arms at this, easily showing how annoyed I am. "I've saved my nation's people from dangerous monsters, I've got arrested, I've been saved by Uni, I've recently learned that the person in charge of this nation is planning to go out in war with the other nations… and here I am, sitting down in a cafe with a jerk dealing with his lady problems." 'Lady problems'? Who is she-

"I never expected my life to end up like this, Naofumi. Constantly hiding away from my own people… is truly something I hate," I looked to my left to see the world's people having their own casual life. "I just hate and hate this new lifestyle of mine, wishing that this bad dream would soon end…"

"What's the point of your sob story? I don't care about what you've experienced. Tell me why you've brought me here or I'll-" She brought a hand up. Was she trying to shut me up? This damn-

"I heard the story about you from Neptune a couple of days ago, Naofumi." She stopped and waited for me to respond. What, was this the place where I'll be ridiculed at? Was she going to laugh haughtily because of the position I was in?

"...The hell is your point?" The growl in my voice didn't affect her. She only closed her eyes before taking a deep breath.

"I wanna know about it, Naofumi. I want to know how hard it was for you to experience such pain," With my hands on my lap, I started to clench my pants. "Don't get me wrong, Naofumi, I don't trust you. Neptune and I might not know the entire story, but even so, having a slave is wrong Naofumi." I glared at her in response.

"What the hell do you know? You don't know a single thing-!"

"It's best if you keep your voice down, Naofumi. And... that's why I'm asking you, Naofumi. You say that I don't know anything about you, what you experienced, and why you chose to do something over the other, and so, here I am, asking you about your experiences in that… 'shitty world', that you kept saying in your sleep. I'm all ears, Naofumi." After she was done speaking, I looked around, seeing if there was anyone here that was with her. As I looked around, I didn't see a single person looking at us. No, she was planning to tell the world when she has the chance, I can't trust her. As I looked around the cafe, I noticed that, for some reason, Filo wasn't looking as lively as she usually was, which I found odd.

"Why should I-"

"I'm sorry, Naofumi." Before I could say anything else, the woman bowed her head on the table. _This _surprised me. Why the hell was this woman apologizing to me? Why was she even bowing her head on the table to begin with? Doesn't she know that people could see us?

"W-what are you-"

"For everything that I've done to you, Naofumi. As a CPU of this nation, no, as a goddess in general, I had no right to judge someone for their actions without having the entire story. The words that I've exchanged to you, the… slaps and rudeness shouldn't be forgiven," Why… was she saying this now? Why was she even apologizing? Was this… something that's part of her schemes? "So… in return for what I've done to you… I would like it if you return the favor, Naofumi." After saying that, she moved herself so that her left cheek was all I could see. What? What the hell is she talking about?

"Seriously, what are you doing?" As if she was an idiot, I found my eyes widening as I continued to look at her. Her eyes widened before pulling her face back.

"Forgive me, Naofumi, I forgot that we were in a cafe. I suppose that it would be better if we continued this when we're alone. But, if you want to know, I want you to slap me, Naofumi. When I mean slap, I mean really, really, really, really hard. After that, I want you to say the most disrespectful things to me, so that I could cry." Eh?! Is she joking right now?!

"What are you, a masochist?!" I asked with a slightly raised voice. It's weird for me to hear something like this from a woman, but…

"I know of one, but that's not the point here, Naofumi," When she mentioned that she knew one, her eyes looked… lifeless. "For payback, you get to hit me. I feel as though you deserve to do this much to me." Payback, huh? Thinking back, I remember all the words that we exchanged to one another when I was pissed off. After everything she's said to me… I should get her back! I should slap her, and tell her how pathetic she looks in front of me! That way, _she _isn't the one laughing! I'll be the one laughing as she takes the slap to the face!

"Okay, I'll take your word for it! You better not back down from this!" I grinned. However, my grin soon faded when I noticed something off about her.

She was smiling.

What?

"Well, as long as you will be satisfied, then I won't back down. Now then, I believe that we have something to discuss about?" Before I could speak, the sound of the bell ringing was heard throughout my ears. Looking back, I could see a woman that looked familiar, but I didn't care about her name.

"Ah, Uni, how was your day?" The woman in front of me asked the woman that slightly resembled her. When the new woman walked towards us, she walked to our seats and sat next to the older-looking version of herself. Then, she started to look a bit nervous.

"H-hi, Noire. I… got the stuff that you wanted me to bring." She brought out a folder that looked similar to something that you would see in a crime film.

"Oh, that's good! Good job, Uni!" The younger-looking version looked a bit happy when she heard that.

"Y-Yes, I did!" She replied happily. After taking her attention to her younger-looking version, the older woman stared back at me.

"Naofumi… I would like to have a deal with you." A deal? Is she… trying to blackmail me?

"And you're trying to get to your goal by blackmailing me? No thanks, I would rather-"

"While it is like blackmailing, it really isn't. This information that I have benefits the both of us, Naofumi. Now then, here's the deal: if you help me gather information about this Order group, then I'll help you with your problem with Raphtalia." Opening the photo, my eyes widened a bit. The photos in the folder were of… a woman with brown hair, and a man standing by her side. Help me with… Raph...talia? That… woman?!

"..." I didn't say anything, all I could do was look at this woman in the eye. What the hell is she actually planning?

"But before I get your answer, I believe that you owe me an explanation of what happened to you, correct? And if you're wondering, Uni isn't here to exchange this information with anyone else. Everything we talk about is between the three of us, okay?" The younger-looking version nodded her head when she stared at me.

Looking at Filo, I could see that she was looking at the photos with teary eyes. This was something I couldn't ignore.

"...She was a slave, _that_, you already know about," They both nodded their heads, and then patiently waited for me to continue. "But before any of that, I was summoned from my own world called Earth, a world that's a bit similar to this one, but not exactly. But, when I was summoned to that shitty world, from the moment I laid my eyes on the people who summoned me, I knew something was up."

"What do you mean by that? Are you implying that they were planning something when you arrived?" I nodded my head before continuing.

"Not just the people in that kingdom had it out for me, the king himself was already in it. No, it was the other way around. He had his own people come after me, and they had no signs of rejection in his plan. They wanted to see me suffer, they wanted to plan something out to the Shield Hero, so that he could look weak in front of everyone in the world. I'm… not explaining what they've done to me, but just know this: because of what happened to me, I can't trust another woman. Because of _her _everyone called me disgusting; they loathed me. And I hated every single person in that world because of it." The older woman only closed her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Is this the reason why you're referring me as 'Woman'?" I decided not to answer that. I knew that she was a woman before, but for what reason did I refer her to her name before? Why did I trust a woman of all people so easily?

"And so, with everything stripped from me, I had nothing left. They wanted me to save their world, and they chose to make me the laughing stock. But… because I'm the pathetic Shield Hero, who can't fight for his life and relies on his teammates to fight for him, I had to get someone to fight for me. I _had _to get someone strong who would be willing to fight for me, even if I had to use force if it was needed."

"And that's when you met Raphtalia, right? The slave that you bought, correct?" I could tell from the older version that she was close to letting out her anger. With the table gripped, I could see cracks forming on the table. What the hell is with these women? The younger-looking version only looked at me with wide eyes, but nonetheless, I didn't care.

"She was a child at the time. Weak, obedient, and cheap. But, even when she was a slave, even when she was obedient, weak, and cheap, she was sick from a disease. From what I heard from the slave merchant, she had been a slave for a long time. Just looking at her eyes made me believe that she was sick of the world. She was a slave, after all. She was already being beaten from her previous slave master. After buying her, she kept coughing and coughing. It was until I made medicine that cured her disease, that I've noticed how human I still was."

"You… even when you wanted someone strong to fight for you, you chose to pick up Raphtalia, a slave who was sick with a disease that couldn't have been cured without you. From what I can tell about you, in your mind, you were thinking that she was weak, but you still bought her. And why was that, Naofumi? Why did you buy a slave that was weak when you wanted someone stronger than her?"

"..." I couldn't answer the question. I don't remember what I was thinking at that point, but… I still bought her. For what reason did I decide to buy her?

"If you won't answer, then I'll answer for you: it's because you're human, Naofumi. You won't explain what happened to you, that's fine, you won't explain why you hate women, and I'll bear with that fact, but, you know that deep down, even when you experienced something so traumatic, you still have a human heart. Naofumi, I'm not hating you because you bought a slave now. I should rather applaud the fact that you saved a child that could've possibly been on the verge of death. You wanna know what I hate about you, Naofumi? I hate the fact that you haven't learned a single thing from that world." What? What does learning have to do with this?

"Learning? The only thing I had learned from that world is that I should hate everyone! What else is there to learn about?!" While the younger version looked a bit shocked by my raised voice, the older woman didn't budge.

"First, as young as she looks, Neptune is still a woman. She's years older than you, you know. So, when I say that, how do you view Neptune? If she's a woman, why is it that you're able to bear with her?"

"That's because she's a child! She has the bratty and annoying attitude of a child! There's no way that she's a woman!"

"You're right. For all that I've known her, Neptune is annoying, bratty, lazy, and overall a bad goddess. But, even so, I respect her as a woman. And that's not because she transforms into one. You're blocking yourself from the bigger picture, Naofumi. I don't know when you've seen Neptune's CPU form, but I know that you know that she's a woman. It's because you don't want to believe that she's a woman, right? When she changes, she's nothing like the person you've seen, right?"

"That's…"

"Wrong? It's amazing how you haven't slapped me yet when I gave you the chance, Naofumi. Here I am, Naofumi, a woman that's talking to you, and you don't seem to care about that." Before the younger version had a chance to speak, I planned to retort already.

"Of course I care that you're a woman! You could be plotting to humiliate me at any second!"

"Then, why is it that you won't walk away? Is it because of Raphtalia? There's a chance that these pictures could be fake, and you're already believing in the words of a _woman._" I clicked my tongue in frustration.

Secondly, before you decide to walk away, listen to me, a _woman_, Naofumi. Answer me honestly, Naofumi. Could there have been anyone in that world that believed that everything about you was wrong?" My eyes widened a bit.

"_We haven't known each other for long, but I've known you since the day you first got here. Kid, I know you aren't like what everyone said you were." _

"_Thank you." _

"_Those are the same eyes as the ones you had when you first got here. That's good enough for me. And… before you go… make sure you take care of that pretty lady of yours, ya' hear?" _

"It wasn't just Erhard, the people of that village I saved from the Waves praised me… but I didn't care to listen to them. I always thought that they were just saying that because I saved their lives… when no one else would… not even the other Heroes." I said that out loud, didn't I? I wanted to suppress those words as a thought, but it managed to come out.

"There was still a chance, Naofumi. You had chances to prove them wrong, to prove to them that they weren't like anything that others said you were. Can you really say that you hated everyone in that world? Could you say that to Raphtalia? To even Filo?" I looked at Filo, who was still looking teary-eyed.

"...No, I couldn't say that. I always thought of them as my daughters. I didn't want them to live in a world that was built around hatred." I had my gaze towards my hands now. That's what I wanted for the both of them.

"If that's what you wanted, then why were you still angry? Even when you found yourself in this world, a world that's so different than that… crap, then why did you still look angry at everyone you come across? Before this point, everything was peaceful for you. Your experience here was going to be-"

"It's because I'm still the Shield Hero…" I looked at the menu that laid in front of my face. There, lies equipment. What does equipment matter to someone who can't even use anything else but the Shield?

"What?"

"It's because I'm the Shield Hero, the rapists of women, that I could never be happy. I'm the Hero that causes trouble for others because I'm weak compared to the other Heroes." And then, suddenly, I felt a hand touch my head.

"It's because you don't trust yourself, right, Naofumi? You're letting negative thoughts within your mind without even realizing it. You might be a jerk at times, but I don't think you're anything less than that. You're a good man a heart, Naofumi. It's a shame that you're wasting your life by letting your emotions get to you. Raphtalia was saved by you, Naofumi. I believe that Raphtalia wouldn't want to see you like this. A man who doesn't even trust himself, doesn't even trust the people around him. Not even the woman that spent so much time being with you."

I…

I…

"_I'm thankful for this Shield. You saved my life so many times with this shield." _

"_I know you better than anyone else in this world." _

_I know that you're kind." _

"_You were the one who gave me this sword and gave me a purpose in life. My life is for yours to protect, and yours is mine to fight for." _

Why am I listening to these words again? Aren't they just lies?! Why can't I get rid of them?! Why is it that she keeps popping up when I want to forget her! Aren't women supposed to be manipulative?! I can't… I can't be manipulated by-

"_I will always stay by your side. I will be there to tell everyone that they're wrong about you. Your kindness knows no bounds, Master Naofumi." _

Why…?

Why the hell can't I get her out of my head?!

"You've adapted, Naofumi. You adapted yourself to a world that was centered around hatred, and you decided to bring that hatred to a world that has nothing centered around any of that. You've adapted in that world, so what's the difference between adapting to this world and that one? I promise you, Naofumi, my nation is nothing like this. I don't know how this happened, but, when I get to the bottom of this, I will put the person responsible of this issue in their place. We _will _get Raphtalia's memories back, Naofumi."

...Is that even possible at this point? With Raphtalia being with some other guy… could it even be possible to get her memories back?

Or… should I just leave her? She's… happy with that other guy, right? It's… it would be wrong to take her away from her happiness, right? I… can't decide. Will I find out my answer if I adapt to this world? Will I find out my answer by meeting up with her again?

"I…" Before I had the chance to say anything, I heard the sound of a bell ring throughout my head. When I heard the door close, I looked behind me, seeing who the new people that were entering the cafe. Seeing them… caused my eyes to widen.

Raphtalia and that guy… holding hands happily.


	14. Chapter 14

**(A/N) Huh, another upload. I'm starting to like this story even more. **

"Haru, you don't need to be so close to me!" The sound of a playful giggle started to echo throughout my head.

"Raphtalia, dear, you know a lot of people have their eyes on you when I'm not looking, so I have to make sure that _everyone _understands that you're mine." A man chuckled.

"B-but… you don't have to do something… like _this_."

"Oh, come now, Raphtalia, you know as much as I do that you like this. I thought you liked being a bit closer to me; what's with the sudden change of heart?" The arm around the woman was only pulling her closer.

"W-well… I don't think we should be this close in a public area. It's just-"

"...Is there a reason why we're doing something like this?" I asked the woman behind me. Never in my life did I expect myself to be in a situation like this. After… _overhearing _their conversation in the cafe, we-no, rather, _they _wanted me to follow after them. And here we are… standing in a dark alleyway while we stalk Raphtalia and that… other guy.

"Because we _have _to, Naofumi," The woman spoke with a voice that was almost higher than a whisper. "We might not get a chance like this again, so we're going to have to do something about it!"

"Still… must it be like this? You do realize what we're doing, right?" The sound of faint growling was heard next to me; resulting in me turning to the source of the growl: Filo. While we heard the scene, Filo was staring at the scene unfolding with fiery eyes.

"O-of course I know," Her voice was almost close to yelling at that point. "W-we're just… analyzing for the right moment! Y-yeah! We're just analyzing the situation before we plan our attack!"

"Even with that kind of reasoning, it doesn't change the fact that we're stalking them. Tsunderes these days…" I felt a slap on my head; it didn't hurt _that _much, but I did feel a sting. Goddesses… why must they be so damn powerful?

"S-stupid! We're doing this for _your _sake, you know! Look," Focusing her gaze back towards the… couple, she forced my head to look along with her. "Are you telling me that you don't feel something while looking at this?" I could only stare at them blankly.

"Are they not happy with what they're doing? We shouldn't be-"

"Idiot! I can't stand the fact that you were a man of action when I heard from Neptune that you kept going out to dangerous dungeons! Now, when one of your partners is gone, you're just going to sit here and do nothing?" To say that I didn't feel anything was nothing but the truth. For some reason, compared to the first time that I found Raphtalia with this guy, I feel relatively calm.

"What do you want me to do? Kidnap her? Walk up to her and say "I'm sorry to interrupt your date, but that girl is my partner, so, hand her over"? I'm not that stupid to do something like that." Turning around because I heard shuffling, I saw the younger version of that woman shifting a bit uncomfortably.

"U-uhm… how long do we have to stay here? It… kind of stinks here, you know." Since this was an alleyway, it would make sense that there's a bunch of dumpsters around here.

"Look, they're on the move, Naofumi! We have to follow them!" As I looked back at them, I found the two walking away from the bench they were sitting in; and going off to their next destination. To be honest, I didn't want to follow. Why should I? Why should I ruin someone's happiness like a criminal? Oh, wait… I _am _a criminal. I just want to go back to the hotel and sleep…

But, before I could say something, I felt the softness of one's hand around mine before I was in a sprint behind the person who grabbed me.

"We don't have time to waste, Naofumi! If we can somehow have that man away from Raphtalia, then we might have the chance of taking her!" First, why the _hell _is this woman touching me? I _would _like to take my hand away, but one: her grip around my hand was tight, almost as if she was going to break my hand, and two: I felt so tired. And second… why is she thinking like a criminal? Oh, wait…

* * *

"They're in a restaurant, now? Great, now we can't hear what they're talking about!" As we found ourselves sitting in seats at a cafe that was across the street from the restaurant that they entered earlier, we could see them happily conversing with one another through the window.

"Why is it that you're so infatuated to stop them?" With the menu in her hand to cover her face, she lowered so that I could only see her eyes. Right now, I could only see them piercing through my soul. Am I supposed to be threatened? Well, I should be…

"And why are you not having some hope that we _can _stop this?! Naofumi, don't you want Raphtalia by your side again?" I looked back across the street to see them laughing with one another. After that, I pulled out my menu to see what time it was: it's 3 PM… who would've thought that the day would go this fast?

"Not really…" Looking at my menu, I looked at my equipment, wanting to see if there was anything in there that would have my interest. Just… stalking like this was really getting boring.

**^!&*^* ^ *!&*Curse!&* *!**

"Naofumi…" She tried to suppress her anger, but I could already hear it in her voice. It's not like a woman's wrath would bother me.

"What did you expect from me? You expected me to go on like an idiot to get my partner back? Do you really think that I would do something so-"

"Childish? Well, I can tell you one thing, Naofumi: the only thing I'm finding childish is your behavior."

"What did you just…"

"Okay, Naofumi, if you don't want to do anything, then don't. We're going to keep following them until midnight. Now, if you don't come up with something soon, then, we can call this deal off. I can go on and find some more information on the people that are _causing _this situation to happen, and you can just find a place to stay while loathing nothing but the world and yourself. If you're going to do something like that, then you are the exact definition of a child." A child? She's calling me a child? Me? A child? Looking back across the street, I'm still finding them laughing with one another. It's weird…

For whatever reason... I feel disgusted.

I found myself staring at them for some time now…

And soon, I found myself staring back at ruby-red eyes. As the man sitting across from her was talking to the waiter, Raphtalia… stared right back at me. Her eyes looked at me with confusion and wonder…

"_This… meal is for me?" _

"_Yes, just eat up." _

"Idiot! What are you doing?! Don't keep staring at her!" Hearing the woman in front of me raising her voice, I turned back towards her, seeing the anger on her face.

"Sis… I don't think we should stay here anymore. We can't risk her being suspicious of us." I heard the younger version speaking behind me with Filo sitting across from her.

"Yes, I suppose you're right, Uni. Come on, Naofumi, we're going to have to move from here." When I stood back at the glass from across the street, Raphtalia wasn't staring back at me. Instead, she was staring back at the man in front of her. Was I imagining things? We… shouldn't stay here…

Hopefully, she doesn't find us stalking her again.

* * *

And so… we followed them throughout the day, and not once did we get caught by them, or anyone else in this nation. The people nor soldiers didn't think of any suspicion of us. Oddly enough, there were fewer soldiers roaming around than normal. Where the hell did they all go, anyway?

"-Naofumi, are you paying attention?" I turned back to the woman, seeing that she was crossing her arms while we all stood behind trees. Following them lead us to a forest that was brightly lit up because it was close to the nation. For what reason were they here?

"Hrm? What do you want, Woman?" She sighed with exaggeration before looking back at me in the eyes.

"With Uni leaving ahead to sleep, it's almost time to make your decision. It's about to be ten, and you haven't done a single thing back stare at them! Come on, Naofumi, give me an answer!" Why was this woman so keen on butting in my business? Other than that deal, I was expecting us to just leave until we found Raphtalia by herself, but here she is… helping me.

"Tell me, Woman-"

"Noire."

"Woman. Tell me, why are you still here? You've noticed constantly that I haven't done anything to get Raphtalia back, but you still choose to stay here. Tell me why." She looked back at the stupid couple before looking back at me. I could see a hint of sadness in her eyes for some reason. Why must this woman show me how weak and pathetic she is? She gets upset easily, she bitches at me, and she even apologizes to me because of…

Right… she apologized to me. Because of everything she said and did to me, she apologized to me. She says that it's because she's a goddess and she shouldn't have been so rude, but… was that really the case?

A being that's higher than a human… apologizing because she felt bad for me? Compared to that bitch and king, she's higher than them. And even so… she apologized to me?

"Not that it bothers me, but… do you not feel any pain when you see them together? I might've not known you two for long, but whenever I see you, Naofumi, Raphtalia was always standing by your side. Does it not bother you that you easily let her go with someone you can't even trust? You and I don't know a single thing about that man. And yet, there she is, acting like she has years and years of memories with him. Well, the thing is, Naofumi, her memories are fake."

"I know, you constantly kept telling me that, and I-"

"Naofumi, is there something wrong with doing something that's wrong when it's right?" I find myself curious at what she means by this. 'Something wrong when it's right'?

"What do you mean by that?"

"Something wrong, Raphtalia?" When Noire opened her mouth, we heard the man speak again. As he had his hand around Raphtalia while they stood in an open field under the stars, I could see him looking down at Raphtalia. For some reason, she was holding her head as if she had a headache.

"N-nothing… it's just I got another headache. Sorry for worrying you." She responded with an unsure voice. Was there something wrong with Raphtalia?

"Again? Raphtalia, you've been getting some headaches for quite a while, Raphtalia. Is the medicine not working anymore?" Medicine? Was he drugging her with something? That damn-

"Maybe. It's just… that I keep feeling hazy whenever I'm walking. It's like… I walking somewhere when I'm not even there." I was about to get up, but I felt the woman's hand touch my shoulder, stopping me from moving. Brushing her arm off, I growled silently before watching again.

"What do you mean by that, Raphtalia? Should we head back? Do you need some rest? You're sounding a bit crazy, right now." I'll be damned to say that Raphtalia would sound crazy if she was concerned about something. This damn bastard doesn't know a single-

"N-no, it's fine, Mi!" Realizing what she had said, she closed her mouth with her hands. 'Mi'? Who the hell was 'Mi'?

"'Mi'? What does that mean, Raphtalia? Are you feeling alright?" Raphtalia started to back away from him a bit, before stopping. After shaking her head, she smiled a bit nervously.

"I… I don't know, Haru. I'm… not very certain where that came from."

"I see… then, do you still want to stay here? I can take you back home if you want me to." It was then, I saw her ears twitch a little.

"O-okay, Haru. I… I think I should call in for the night."

"Naofumi, they're going to move if we don't do anything! We have to act now!" They were going to leave… to whatever they lived at. As I clenched my fist, I didn't want that to happen. I can't… just allow Raphtalia to be with… some random guy who thinks she's crazy when there's definitely something wrong with her!

Once again, I find myself in a world of dark, a world of smoke, a world of doubt, and a world of hatred.

I could remember the days we had together; it was just the two of surviving in a world that held nothing but hatred towards us. I taught her how to fight with her life on the line...

"_Master… I'll fight for you. So please don't throw me away." __**...Let's just hope that she doesn't waste my time. I spent nearly all that I have for her, so she better cover everything that I've spent on her. **_

We fought the three-headed beast that Raphtalia feared when she was younger…

"_Naofumi-sama!"_ _**When she jumped on me, I felt my body jolt in pain. Geez, must she have to cry and jump on me while I'm injured? **_

"_Oi, even with the shield's power, the wound still hurts!" _

We experienced a lot together… taking in all of the world's hatred on us, and still fight our way to get stronger.

"_What are you doing?! Stab it already!" __**When she stood there with shaken eyes, I could only grind my teeth in frustration. Did I really waste my money for a child like her? Am I really trusting my life in the hands of a child? **_

And yet… we still had those moments where I felt that we were just having a normal life.

"_She stands up for herself now… or it's just that she's gotten rude." _

"_I mean, sure, she looks cute." _

_*Growl*! "I-It wasn't me!" _

"_We're here to buy armor for Naofumi-sama!" _

"_It suits you perfectly! You look great, Naofumi-sama!" _

But… still…

Not once did I have a single doubt when buying her.

"_Mom! Dad!" What the hell?! Why the hell is she screaming?! _

"_What's wrong?!" Getting close to her, she appeared to be still sleeping. She was having a nightmare, wasn't she? _

"_Mom…" I wrapped my hands around her, trying to calm her down. The pain this child experienced… is far worse than mine. I might not know what happened to her parents, but I do know that she's a slave. Being a slave while losing your parents… screams out pain. _

"_It's okay, just calm down. Don't cry." I could only hope that my words would calm her down. _

_Rest easy, Raphtalia. We have a long road ahead of us. _

And just like that time… her words were enough to calm me down.

"_Even if you can't trust anyone anymore, I trust you. I trust you, the man who saved me," Why? Why must those words hurt me? They… were the words I wanted to hear so much. "I trust you, the man who saved my life." _

When I heard them for the first time, I couldn't help but feel weak. I allowed myself to become weak in front of her. I showed her how weak I was to mere words. It… it was all because…

"_No, I trust… the Great Shield Hero." _

I trust Raphtalia with my life.

She's waiting out there for me.

_!Conversion: Requirements Met: Hope Series Unlocked?_

And finally, the dark world fades.

"Filo… transform into your Filolial form." When I turned to her, her eyes widened.

"Master…?" For some reason, I felt something inside me being… changed. Something inside of me was different. And for some reason… it felt good. After all of the doubt the lack of reason to do anything… I wanted to do something. I _had _to 'do something wrong when it's right'. This was Raphtalia's freedom that I'm about to take away. But, still, I know Raphtalia. What she's experiencing isn't freedom.

With no memory of who she was before, with no memory of where she came from… she's only a raccoon that's trapped within a bird's cage. That wasn't freedom.

She's being enslaved to her own uncertainty.

"Just do it, Filo. I'm certain that you're going to love my plan." She looked confused, but nonetheless, she transformed. Now, as she was in her giant filolial form, I climbed on her back.

"N-Naofumi, what are you-"

"Noire," When I looked down at her to see her widened eyes, I could see them widen even more. What? Did she not expect me to do something stupid? "I might not trust you as you are a woman, I recognized that you're an idiot."

"What?! Who are you calling an-"

"You, a goddess, had this entire day to yourself to find out why this shit was happening. And yet, here you are, helping a human with his problems rather than doing your own work. Because of that, you're an idiot, Noire." I can see her expression suddenly changing into one of annoyance.

"Hmph! That's right, and you better be grateful, Naofumi! I-I didn't do this without having foresight of you trying to get Raphtalia back, you know! A goddess _is _amazing, you know! But, when all of this is over, you _are _going to help me with my work like Neptune!" Yeah, she's the tsundere goddess of praising herself while blushing…

"...You know, I never thought that I would be saying this… but thank you, Noire."

"F-for what?!"

"For giving me the idea of doing something stupid. I don't know why… but I'm feeling quite strange. I've never felt like this in a long time. It might be because of what you said: 'is there something wrong with doing something that's wrong when it's right'?"

"W-well… it might be because of that stupid smile on your face that you're feeling weird!" I'm… smiling? Now that I think about it… I'm feeling a huge tug on the right side of my cheek. Smiling, huh? I never thought I would be smiling in this kind of situation.

"Master, what are you planning to do? Raphtalia and that weirdo are about to leave!" Filo exclaimed when she turned to me. She's right. It looks like I'm going to have to think _fast _before I lose this chance.

"Filo… have you ever heard of the game of playing chicken?" She gave me an odd stare.

"What kind of game is that, Master?" When I directed my attention towards the man that was next to Raphtalia, I felt a grin on my begin to form. Let's see how loyal he is when he gets a look at her father!

"Filo, run straight towards Raphtalia! And don't even think about stopping until I say so!"

"Master!"

"Naofumi, what did you just say?! Have you gone insane?!" Hearing them made me feel something weird in my chest. It started to creep up my chest… until it came from out of my mouth.

I began to laugh.

"I might be… but since I'm a criminal, I've gotta come up insane ideas like these! Filo! Go!" And then, Filo's foot that was placed within the ground had set off forward.

I felt the breeze within my hair, and it felt good. I felt the breeze touch my face, and it felt good. This speed was enough to play chicken.

"Raphtalia!" My scream caused her ears to twitch. When it did, she turned towards us, before having a look of terror.

"A giant bird?!" Seeing Raphtalia turn around, the man turned around to only scream when he noticed that we were coming straight towards them. It's funny, I kind of expected that Raphtalia to scream, but that's fine for me.

We were almost at them; we were going to collide with them without any hesitation. If that man didn't want to go down with Raphtalia, then, he better let go of her hand!

"Master! When should I-"

"When I tell you to! Just keep going!" As we were approaching ever closer, I noticed that the man was trying to convince Raphtalia to move, but she didn't move. She had started to clutch her head with her left hand as she looked confused. Come on… move already!

And then, just like expected… the man moved out of the way.

And not with Raphtalia.

"Filo, stop!" As said, Filo turned to the side, hopped a bit, and slammed her feet into the ground, slowing her pace immediately. With the speed we had, I had no doubt that it was going to be troubling to stop Filo. With the dirt starting to cover my vision, it was until Filo had actually stopped, that I was able to see in front of me again.

And standing in front of me… was Raphtalia covering herself from the dust that had spewed all over her. Her black and blue shirt, along with blue pants had gotten dirtied because of us. Hm, I guess we went to fast…

"Raphtalia… take my hand." As we stood before her, I reached out my hand to her, to which she only stared.

"Who… are you?" As much as that question hurt me, I didn't care. Raphtalia was standing right in front of us, waiting to be saved… just like I did before.

"Naofumi Iwatani, the man who's saving your life."

"Nao...fumi? Save… my life?" When I looked at her, in her right eye, I noticed that there were tears that were ready to burst from the dam of her eye.

"Yeah, it's Naofumi, but you can call me whatever you want to call me, Raphtalia. Filo and I have been waiting for you to come back, but you never came back to us. To think the woman that swore to be my sword would just forget all about me and hang out with another man… shame on you, Raphtalia."

"Swore…? What… what are you talking about?!" And just like that, the dam broke. The tears were free, and she's looking as rude as I thought she was.

"I need you, Raphtalia. Just like how you told me that you needed me… I need you." Her eyes widened when I said that. I might be imagining things, but I'm seeing a faint red on her cheeks… hopefully, she didn't catch something because of Filo.

"Raphtalia… please, remember us! We're Filo and Master!" Filo exclaimed with a broken voice.

"I don't know any Naofumi Iwatani! I don't know who-"

"You want me to stop treating you like a kid? Fine, but you're going to have to show me that you've grown throughout the time we spent with one another, Raphtalia." I was starting see to her expression become a bit angry. Ah, there's the kid that I'm used to.

"Stop talking as if you-"

"You want me to start worrying about my well-being more than yours, right? Fine, after this, we can go shopping at a shop so we can look for some gear for me. With this place being a new world, I'm going to need the strongest gear we can find. And other than that, we're going to have to look for a new sword for you, too." This wasn't working. She's getting a bit more frustrated by the second. It looks like I'm going to have to act differently...

"Stop-"

"Besides, after all of the children that we've saved in that shitty world, we should probably get stronger so can save more children, right? Or… is it that you don't care... about the children anymore?" As fucked up as it sounded, I had to say it. I know that we're in a different world… but, it pains me that the potential of having more children experience what Raphtalia had. I'm still human, after all.

"Would you stop and-" She had both of her hands on her head as she was starting to look frightened for some reason.

"Why are you looking so frightened, Raphtalia?! Is it because you're scared to take my hand?! The hand of the man that you swore to fight for?! Do you want me to throw you away without looking back?! Because I'm sure as hell sure that you didn't need me when you were with this bastard!"

"S-stop… please, just stop. It… hurts..." And then, the second dam broke. She had her head to the floor, not wanting to see my face. I'm sorry, Raphtalia… but it's time to get your memories back. It might take days, weeks, months or even years, but I'm devoted to doing so.

"'You've been through a lot of pain. But from now on, you don't need to be alone with the pain'. Raphtalia, can you tell me who told me those words?" When she looked back up at me, I could see the tears flowing downwards.

"I…" I lowered my hand even further, waiting for her to grab. When she raised her hand a bit, I grabbed it, then, I pulled her up on her feet. With her hand still in my grasp, as if she were hypnotized, she started to move closer to us. She wanted to climb up. She wanted to sit back down on Filo… once again.

"Who the hell do you think you are?! What are you doing with my Raphtalia?!" As Raphtalia was still in a trance of some sort, I helped her climb up on Filo, where she started to feel Filo's feathers.

"Warm...:" She spoke silently, feeling Filo's back.

"Raphtalia! Come on, come down to me where it's safe! I remember this guy! This was that criminal that-" Oh yeah, I forgot all about this bastard. I should've told Filo to run this guy over for the fun of it.

"I'm her father, jackass. And for your information, I don't approve of your existence, scum." He took a step back when I glared at him. Was he really shaking from a mere threat?

"F-father?! W-who the hell-"

"From the moment I laid my eyes on you, I knew you were some kind of bastard that was trying to get with Raphtalia for the hell of it. You don't know Raphtalia as much as I do. She's the slave that I bought to fight off the Waves of a shitty world that I had been summoned to. While she acts like a kid at times, I trust her with my life. I don't know what kind of relationship you had with Raphtalia, but I sure as hell know that it wasn't as strong as ours."

"What the hell are you-"

"Raphtalia is the slave that fights for the world with just a sword. And I am the man that fights for the world with just a mere shield. We stay together, and we fight together. From any danger, I protect her with my life on the line, and she fights for me with her life on the line. And if you can't understand why we do that, then you're nothing to Raphtalia. And you're nothing to me as well."

"Master, shall we get going?" Filo asked.

"Yeah, I'm done looking at this trash. Let's hurry and-"

"You think you can get away from this? I know your name, Naofumi Iwatani! When I report this to the authorities, your life will never be normal!" I scoffed at that.

"Yeah, I already heard that line before. Nothing you say isn't any different than what I had already heard." I felt Raphtalia wrap her arms around my waist. Alright, it's time to go.

"Raphtalia is mine, Naofumi Iwatani! Don't you ever-"

"To act like women are some kind of property is scum. And to still act like that when you didn't even try to protect her is worse than scum; you're nothing but the dirt I dust off of my shoe."

"Why you-"

"Oh, and before I forget, make sure that you tell the authorities that Naofumi Iwatani, the Great Shield Hero, was the one who stole your precious Raphtalia away! I'm sure that they'll have a good laugh! Let's go, Filo!"

"Okay, Master!" In a burst of speed, Filo began to run through the forest. It looks like we're going to have to get back into Lastation without being noticed. A new spare of clothes would be nice, too. Now that I think about it, was it wise to leave Noire in the woods like that? She knows her way home, right?

"Great… Shield Hero. Naofumi-sama…" I was actually hearing those words from her again. For the time that she's been gone, I never thought I would… feel so happy to hear those words.

"Welcome back, Raphtalia." Raphtalia was back with me. She was back with _us_ again. But, most importantly… I have to thank Noire when I see back in the hotel.

"Naofumi-sama… I don't want the kids' meal again. I'm not... a child anymore!" Huh, I guess she's having a fun and interesting dream...

**(A/N) **

**To those wondering about the Hope Series, it's because he conquered the Sloth Series. It's hard to see, but I kind of already hinted at Naofumi carrying the Sloth Series. His lack of care, his thoughts of sleeping, and even doubts were all part of the Sloth Series. I'm sorry for now saying that he obtained the Sloth Series, but I kind of like the thrill of people finding it out by reading important details. So, I'm going to kindly ask that you don't hate me for this vague response. I'm just trying to be... different? **


	15. Preview

**Hey, can you hear me? I'm... sorry everyone. First, I'm sorry this isn't a real chapter. Huh, for some reason, I feel as though I failed in some way. I'm apologizing for not understanding myself a bit more better. Life, school and- no, I want to improve on drawing. I... probably sound like a complainer, don't I? Well, it's a struggle for me, you know. I... didn't quit writing, I'm just... unsure a bit. Am I improving in art? Am I improving in writing? Sorry guys but it's like... depression is a hard thing to deal with.ごめん. Heh, I learned a couple of things while being away, you know. Well, stress and depression can't be in my head forever, so... why not try and come back a bit? Eh? When am I coming back? Hm, well, it's for us to see. right? I won't be as heavy as I used to be, but I need to... rely on everyone for a bit, okay? ****So... enjoy this preview... whenever I post this**.

"..._Raphtalia, are you okay?" Judging by her slow breathing, I could tell she wasn't looking good. _

_Bleeding injuries, but not fatal. This... wasn't looking good. __Filo... she's barely holding up on her own right now._

_And... as for myself... I could barely stand up. __How... could one person do this much to us?_

_Are we... really going to lose here? _

_Right... when things were getting better for us?__"_

_...Tell me, why is it that you three resist what is right?" She, the woman who was able to do this to us, stood her ground with calm breathing, firm stance, and even no injuries. She... she's on a different level!_

_"I... can't lose to you! I... I can't allow you to harm him! I can't... lose..."_

_"Raphtalia!" As her shaking hand let go of her sword, she fell towards the floor, not showing any signs of getting back up._

_"Master... I can't go on anymore..." And just like that, both of my teammates are down. My... daughters fell on the floor without any more energy within them__._

_Where... is Noire?!_

_Or even Neptune?!_

_"Your members have fallen. So, criminal who wields the shield, what will you do next? Will you-"_

_"Enough of this talk! Sparing words won't change my mind, so don't bother!"_

_ Sheathing her sword, she took her original stance; the stance that she first started off with.__"I see. As I warned before, if you will not come willingly, then this battle will end with pain for you. Please, is ending up as your-"_

_"Worth it? Of course, it is! We traveled through hell to get where we are now! If I'm going to travel with those who would give their life to save me, then why shouldn't I?!"_

_There was a brief silence between the two of us. _

_Yet, even then, with her glaring eye, I could tell that she wouldn't understand what I'm saying to her._

_"Why must that be? You speak that would risk their life to save you, but why must that be? What is so special about you, sir?" Sir? Well, that's a new one._

_"Absolutely nothing. We were forced to go through trouble to have even the slightest bit of peace. All of those troubles were pushed into our shoulders... but yet, even if we must shoulder them, we shoulder them together! That's because we believe in each other!"_

_"Trust... each other?"_

_"What would you even understand from us?"_

* * *

"Naofumi, is everything okay?" I found myself laying my head on someone's lap.

"Oh, I guess I fell asleep. Sorry about that." Her giggles seemed to have some hyperactive glee to it.

"Well? Were they sweet dreams?"

"I wouldn't know, nothing in this world makes sense."

**Well, for this preview, it's... more like something I wanted for another idea for someone from another crossover to be introduced. Don't worry, it's only going to be one character, so please don't hate me for this. Huh? Who's the character? I can't say that. Well the only hint I'm giving is that I rely on this character because she figured out to find a way to love herself, no matter what of the many things she has done in her life. Sorry, but all will be introduced...****Soon**


	16. Chapter 15

**(A/N)**

**Just a quick saying... the preview from the last 'chapter' is subject to change. **

"Alright everyone, it's time that we all begin to look around for any clues as to how we can fix this mess!" Noire roared at us.

"Yeah, screaming out loud isn't really a good thing, Noire. Learn when to keep your mouth shut while we're hiding, okay?" Getting a flushed face as a reaction from her, I could look at anything that wasn't her: the wall for example.

"Oh, I don't want to hear anything from you, idiot! We wouldn't have to be in this kind of situation if you didn't-" Waving my hand off casually, I wanted her to keep quiet.

"Yes, I know it's my fault, okay? Jeez, must you yell at someone to get your point across or something? Raphtalia, anything as of yet?"

"Hey, don't try to change the-!" Turning towards Raphtalia, who wore a red cap, black shirt, and a jacket wrapped around her waist, focused her attention towards us.

"No, it doesn't look like anyone's going to see us. If we're going to do this, then we're going to have to-" Raphtalia was interrupted by the sound of a stomach growling.

"Muuu~! I can't wait anymore~! Let's just hurry up and go inside, Father!" After slapping my hand over her mouth, she started to struggle to get my hand off her.

"Filo, now's not the time to start screaming okay? You're going to have to wait until we get the signal from K-Sha." While she could've taken my hand off her mouth, she didn't. Instead, she only crossed her arms and pouted like a child.

"Naofumi, is it okay if I take my hat off now? My ears are… getting a bit uncomfortable right now." Nodding my head, she took her hat off, allowing her hair to brush freely down her shoulders.

"Everyone~!" Suddenly, hearing the faint voice of someone above us, we all looked up, seeing K-Sha behind a opened window for us to climb through. Well, that's her signal, I guess.

* * *

"Phew, we were able to climb through without any problems!" After being the last one to climb through, Raphtalia celebrated a bit after closing the window. All of this to get back into K-Sha's room… I feel like a weirdo right now.

"Okay, attention everyone! We're going to have to come up with some plans as to how we're going to gather information." Noire started off.

"Father, can we get some food? I'm starving~!" Resting my hand on her head, I waited for a second before answering with a small smile.

"Not yet, Filo. Let's hear what Noire has to say first, okay?" Pouting again, she kept quiet while Noire cleared her voice after staring at us.

"Ahem. As I was saying, we're going to have to split up into different teams before anything else, got it? It's good to see everyone here in one area, but if we're all seen together, then the odds of us having to fight against my people are very high." Everyone nodded after that. "Since it's six of us, we're going to have to split into two groups. While I'm going to be heading outside of Lastation for the time being, I'm bringing Raphtalia and Filo along." That plan doesn't sound too bad, doesn't sound too bad, but the thing I need to say is-

"Hold on, Noire!" And… Uni and K-Sha took the words right out of my mouth.

"W-what is it now?" She asks, stuttering a bit.

"How come I can't come with you, Noire? Wouldn't it be better if I-" A hand had silenced Uni's mouth.

"It could be dangerous Noire! I-I'm not saying that I should come along, but I'm just speaking my mind! What if something happens to the three of-" And another hand had silenced K-Sha's mouth. And the one who's silencing them is Noire herself.

"Okay, I'm going to stop the both of you right now and explain my reason for this decision. Naofumi, is there anything wrong with the members that I have chosen?" She turned at me, fully expecting me to answer her.

"Yeah, for what reason do you want to bring Raphtalia and Filo along with you? They're my party members, so I would get to-"

"And that's where I stop you, Naofumi. Uni, you're my younger sister, the proud younger sister of the CPU of Lastation. What I expect from you is that you protect these two with your power as a CPU Candidate." What exactly is she getting at? Why must this woman be so damn vague?

"But-"

"Having the both of us go to the same area wouldn't be a good idea, Uni. I'm not doubting their abilities at all. If I leave you with Naofumi and K-Sha, then you'll be able to help and guide them a lot easier than them leaving on their own." Noire spoke before walking towards the window. After finishing, Uni could only look to the floor with a tint of sadness.

"So, basically, you don't want us in your way, right?"

"Naofumi, that is the complete opposite of what I'm trying to say."

"Then, what exactly are you-"

"N-Naofumi… I don't think that Noire's trying to be rude to any of you. Besides, I'm fine going with Noire to help her search for some clues." Looking at Filo, Raphtalia and I could see that she was a bit indecisive.

"No! I don't want to leave Master! Master needs us, Raphtalia!" Filo wined. And in response, Raphtalia patted her head.

"It'll be okay, Filo. We have nothing to worry about if we leave Naofumi with Uni and K-Sha. You know why, don't you?" Like Filo, I would like to know what exactly she's talking about.

"Huh? I do?"

"Yup!" Raphtalia nodded. "It's because we can trust our friends to protect him, just like how we protect him. Our meetings might've been a bit short, but I can gladly say that we are friends. So, Uni, K-Sha, please, do everything you can to protect Naofumi from danger." Looking at the window, I could see the reflection of Noire's flustered face.

"Friends… I… Yes! Protect Master from anything, or I'll chase after you two!" Filo pointed at them, in which they responded with nervous looks.

Hey… why do I feel like I'm being babysitted here?

"Hey, wait a minute here! Raphtalia-"

"And Naofumi-sama, you'll be on your best behavior and treat them as well as you treat us, correct?" Eh? Wait, why exactly does she look a bit menacing when she turned towards me? She's smiling… but it looks… evil-like?

"W-what?"

"This is your chance to interact with Uni and K-Sha a bit more, Naofumi-sama. Becoming a bit closer to your friends is fun, right?" Why do I feel so nervous all of a sudden?

"Raphtalia, hold on a second, why don't I-"

"You _will _have fun with them, right?" With that menacing smile, this was probably the first time that I realized…

"Y-yes, ma'am…"

How scary Raphtalia could be.

* * *

"O-Okay you two, we should probably hurry on and find something about this Order crap. The sooner we find more clues, the sooner we will be able to get Lastation back. Oh, and nice glasses, Naofumi." She held a giggle behind her hand. Oh, I was already hating this.

"Thanks, Uni, have any more compliments you want to share with the class?" She shrugged before turning back around, looking straight towards the shops in front of us.

"Well, it _is _your fault for giving that guy your name, Naofumi. I don't know what you were thinking at that time, but giving your name away while being a criminal isn't the best of ideas, Naofumi." I found my hand greeting my face, annoyed with the fact that she's bringing up this stuff.

"Um… is Noire really going to be alright?" Turning around with my hoodie and black glasses that totally doesn't make me suspicious at all to look back at a saddened K-Sha, I could only sigh.

"K-Sha, everything's going to be alright. I know that you're… worried and all, but I think you need to relax a bit. She's a goddess, and she knows what she's doing… I hope." Becoming nervous with the attempt to make her feel better, I found myself scratching the back of my head nervously. I'm really not good with this kind of stuff. Why did I have to be afraid of Raphtalia at that time?

"Well, coming from someone who was acting all mopey with Raphtalia being gone, I'm surprised to even hear you say that."

"Uni, do you want to be referred to as just a woman?"

"I'm… sorry you two, it's just that I can't help but worry. Noire was my… Noire's my friend, so I can't help but worry." K-Sha spoke, looking at the ground nervously.

"Don't worry too much, K-Sha. Noire's my sister so… I can't help but worry too. But, after all the times that I worried about my sister's safety… I realized that I didn't really believe that Noire could do it on her own. I always thought that she needed my help, but… she always ends up proving me wrong. Just have a little trust in Noire, K-Sha. I believe that nothing bad is going to happen to Noire. And plus, I also believe in my friends too, you know.

"Uni…" Was all that K-Sha spoke.

"W-what?! I was just speaking from experience so there's no reason to act like Nepgear!" To her flustered actions, K-Sha began to giggle.

"Uni… thank-"

"You guys!" Hearing a familiar voice, we all turned around to see… Noire?! Wait, didn't she already leave to venture outside of Lastation? Why the hell is she back already? And where the hell is Raphtalia and Filo?!

"N-Noire! W-why are you back so early?!" K-Sha managed to say after moving back a bit.

"Huh? Oh, well, Filo kept complaining about wanting to get something to eat, so I let them hang around Lastation to eat before leaving. Were you three heading out to leave yourselves?" She turned to me, looking me in the eye.

"What, something wrong with your plan, Ms. Goddess?" Taking a step back, Noire covered her shocked mouth with her mouth.

"What's with the sarcasticness? And here I thought you would've been a whole lot more kinder to me after what happened with Raphtalia." Twitching at the memory, I could only look away.

"Yeah, well, don't expect that much from me." What's going on with her? She's acting all… weird and stuff. I was expecting some sort of… bitchy attitude.

"Oh~? Is that how you treat someone who basically helped you with someone as important as Raphtalia? Oh well, I'm going to take that as your thank you."

...Okay, who the hell was this?

"...Yeah, well, if Raphtalia and Filo are eating, then I might as well meet them. I have to make sure that-" Before I could walk ahead, my hand was grabbed by Noire.

"Let them have their alone time, Naofumi. They're their own people, you know. Acting like you have some sort of possession over them makes you look like a slave owner. Do you really want people to believe in something that you would hate?" With her glaring eyes, I could tell that this was Noire. So… what's with the sudden appearance?

I don't like this…

Snatching my hand away, I backed up away from Noire. "Yeah, well, stuff like that doesn't affect me anymore. I know who I am, and what I am. I don't need you of all people to try and scold me."

"Uni! Before you three go, how about we have some sister time?" Did she… Did she just ignore me?! What the-

"Noire, what's going on with you? Why are you suddenly grabbing my hands?" Uni spoke, flustered that Noire was holding her hands. Yeah, something is definitely not right.

"What's the matter? Isn't this how sisters talk to one another? We barely have the chance to speak to one another like sisters, so why not now?" Turning around to K-Sha, I could see some… hollow look in her eyes.

"K-Sha." I whispered to her ear, making her jolt a bit.

"N-Naofumi! Don't scare me like that!" And she's back to normal just like that? Yeah, something strange is going on with K-Sha too. But… she doesn't sound or act anything out of the ordinary.

"Hey, what are you two whispering about?" I hear Noire speak out to us, still holding Uni's hand weirdly.

"Nothing. It's nothing you have to worry about. Carry on with your… sisterly bond and stuff." As they turned to walk forward, I looked back at K-Sha again.

"K-Sha… something's not right. Notice anything out of the ordinary with Noire?"

"Noire? Well… no, not exactly. Isn't she usually like this?" I shook my head.

"No. I pretty much know her more than you and-" When I looked towards Noire and Uni, for a split second, I could see Noire's left eye looking back in front of her. "-she does not act like _that._"

"Are you saying that-"

"Yeah, something's wrong here, K-Sha. I want you to meet me and Uni back at the apartment. Be ready to open that window for us, okay?" She still looked a little unsure.

"Why… doesn't she…" She started to mutter to herself, but it's best not to focus on what she's saying.

"K-Sha, I can trust you, right? If you continue to hesitate like this, then Uni would be in danger. Is that what you want?" Hearing me, she instantly shook her head quickly.

"Alright… I'll meet you two there." With that, she ran off. She still sounded a bit unsure. What, don't tell me that she believes that the person in front of us is… Noire? Well, it doesn't matter if it's Noire or not. She never acted like this before, so why now of a sudden? When she wanted us to focus on helping, why act like nothing's wrong?

"Noire, wait up!" Quickly catching up with the mysterious person impersonating Noire, I stopped behind them, fully grabbing their attention. Now, the bad part of what I'm about to do… is that we're way too close to the public eye. With just one false move, I would have guards all over me. Meaning...

"Naofumi? Did you want to join us? I would've thought you would go on with K-Sha to look for clues." Walking a bit closer to them, I noticed that Noire had let go of Uni's hand, causing Uni herself to move a bit away from her with a flustered face.

"Hey, that girl with the pigtails… doesn't she look a little familiar to you guys?" I heard a bystander close to us. If I pretend that they're not there, then this might as well work.

"Yeah, she does look a little familiar. Isn't she… the victim of that criminal we've seen the other day?"

"Wait, that is her! What's she doing with those people? Don't they look a little too suspicious?"

"Well, Noire, K-Sha and I was thinking about splitting up for a bit. If anything, if I go with you two, then I might have a better chance of understanding Lastation a bit more than K-Sha." In the corner of my eye, I saw a guard at his post standing there, before someone started to talk to him.

"W-well, of course you would understand! I _am _the CPU of Lastation after all!" Yeah, yeah, I heard that many-a-times by now. And hearing it from a fake is even worse.

"Hey, Noire, do you remember something that I said before I saved Raphtalia from that guy from earlier? It was like… "since I'm a criminal, I have to do stupid things"? Do you remember that?" Looking at Uni, I could see her attention gazing away towards the guards that were staring at us. Quickly, her expression became frightful.

"Guys we need to-"

"Y-yeah, of course I do, Naofumi, why would I forget something as stupid as that?" Good. Just… needed that clarification.

"That's good. I was hoping that you would remember that because I would eventually do something-" Cutting my words short, I ran to grab Uni's hand, and ran away from… whoever that was, which confused Uni at first, but understanding what I'm doing, she started to run as well.

"Halt! All of you will be arrested immediately!" Looking back to see 'Noire' running away from the guards, I was happy to see that my plan worked. But, the other part… I barely had enough time to think this through.

"Uni, we're going back to K-Sha! She's waiting for us at her apartment!"

"O-okay! Then, head right! We can circle all the way back to her apartment through that way!" Turning right, I was greeted with an alleyway. Okay, they might've seen us turn right, but if we continue to go through this alleyway, then we'll be able to go around them.

Pushing forward, none of them suspected that we would turn immediately around, so we continued to push until we've seen the familiar alley of K-Sha's apartment.

"Naofumi, there it-"

"Halt!" Before we could even celebrate to see the alleyway, a group of guards had come from there, blocking our path. What?! How the hell did they know where we were going to go?! Damn it, K-Sha! She better not have given into part of this bullshit! We have no choice but to go left!

"Uni, which way is out of Lastation?!"

"Huh? You want to leave Lastation?!"

"What other choice do we have?! Unless you have some other-"

"I do have another plan! Just turn left and listen to what else I'm going to say!"

The chase was going to continue to press on...


	17. Chapter 17

**(A/N)**

**Sorry for the late chapter, I needed some sort of motivation to get this out. It's short, but I kind of wanted to focus on the Naofumi and Uni a bit. Sorry if it's not to your liking. **

"So, the best thing that you could come up with… is to just hide in the sewers?" The tapping noises of our footsteps echoed within the sewers.

"Hey! You had no better plan than this while we were running, so this is _my _plan!" Like her sister, she crossed her arms and began the "Annoyed Attitude", as I would call it. It's only a few steps away from the "Bitchy Attitude" that they would soon go into. Why am I even observant to these things?

"No, _my_ plan was to leave Lastation. If we would've just left Lastation, then we wouldn't have to deal with the smell of-"

"Don't you even finish that! Smelling it is enough, but for this occasion, I had mentally prepared myself to ignore what I'm smelling!" She… knows what she's smelling, though! There's no point of mentally… you know what? I'm not going to step into this one.

"...Okay, so? What's your next plan? I know just walking aimlessly through the sewers wasn't just your plan, right?" Instead of answering, she only continued to walk in front of me. Okay… so what's her problem now? Don't tell me that she's almost stepping into her-

"I'm thinking about it." Excuse me? Did Uni, the CPU Candidate of Lastation… not have a plan? And she said that without even looking at me? I would've been laughing my ass off if this was Noire telling me this, but Uni? And she's almost as smart as Noire. Well… shit.

"Thinking about it, huh? Great, now we're stuck inside the sewers without a plan. It won't be long until they eventually think about checking here. Anyway, the great… nevermind." Now isn't the time to be an ass. She might've gotten us stuck in this predicament, but, at least she was able to get us to safety. We might not have a plan right now, but, in that case, we should go back to the original plan.

"Uni, we should just go back to-"

"Sorry, Naofumi." She continued to walk.

…

Okay, I wasn't expecting that.

"...About?" Taking a moment to stop in front of me, she looked back at me with a saddened smile.

"For, you know, this whole situation… and my thoughts about you. I heard about… the world that you came from, and it's kind of hard to figure out if you're an asshole or if you're just a guy who was put into the wrong place with bad experience."

"Okay, I'll ignore your thoughts about me for now. Look, I know that you and everyone could… potentially feel bad for me, but it's fine. _I'm _fine. Everything happened, and now it's done and over with. I was thrown into that world with nothing but my name, but… I found those two because of what happened to me. If it hadn't happened to me, then, I would've become ignorant of what was surrounding me." And if I was ignorant… then, Filo would've been in the hands of someone much worse, and Raphtalia…

"Was there anyone else besides Filo and Raphtalia in that world that believed in you? You know, someone that you could trust?" What is she getting out of this?

"*Sigh* Look, I know that you want me to feel a little better, but now's really not the time for this. We're just wasting our time pressing onto these kinds of things." Walking past her, I noticed a two-way path throughout the sewers now. Great, now which way leads out of the sewers?

"Sorry." Looking back at her, I could see that she was bothered by something. Clenched fists, and even disapproving eyes. Could it be because of Noire? Or even the fake one that we got away from?

"...You know, I have a younger brother." To that, she looked at me incredulously.

"You… do?" I nodded my head.

"Yeah. But, let me assure you, we're nothing like the relationship that you and Noire have. Including Neptune and Nepgear. We're just plain and regular siblings."

"What's he like?"

"He was a pain in the ass. To put it short, he was an idiot back in the day. Well, before I had decided to help him." Uni's 'are you serious' look made me stifle a laugh. "Well, he couldn't do that many things on his own, so I had decided to give him some insight of the world that's coming ahead of him… along with the world of anime. Sooner than later, he became an Otaku. But, I wasn't angry at that at all. I was more than happy for him."

"And why would you be happy for him? Was it because he was finally able to improve his grades at school?" Of course she'll ask that.

"No. I was happy because he was able to figure himself out. He became his own person. We like anime. We have different taste in anime. We like food. We have different taste in food. It's because that he became his own person that I am proud of him "

"...Do you miss him?" Thinking back to those times when that idiot kept laughing while showing me something…

Those times where I had to wake him up to study…

And those times when I was back at home…

"Yeah, I guess you can say that."

"Okay, finally out of the sewers and… I still think we should just leave Lastation while we still can." Looking out of the man-hole from the sewers, I looked around to see that there wasn't anybody around.

"Naofumi, if we leave Lastation, then how are we going to get some more information on the ones that caused this problem? My sister should be back soon, so we should probably find a place to hide and call her." She spoke underneath me. Climbing out, I moved the man-hole cover aside and waited for Uni to climb out.

And… we reek of bad odor.

* * *

"Okay, where are we going to hide then? It's not like we can just hide an apartment again! We'll easily be spotted!" I'd only raised my voice a bit from that.

"Wait, I just received a text from Noire," Pulling out her high-tech phone, she opened her messages to see what Noire had texted her. Wait, is that like… 5 missed messages?

'_Where are you guys?' _

'_Why haven't you called me back, Uni?!' _

'_Uni, tell me exactly where you are?! Why aren't you responding?!' _

'_What the hell?! Why are Lastation guards at K-Sha's apartment?!' _

'_Uni, I know it's hard to believe, but wherever you are, you have to understand that something strange is going on around here! Why in the hell did I just see another Neptune?!' _

"Another… Neptune? How is that even possible? Well, dimension travel is possible, but how could another Neptune just pop up out of nowhere?" Uni asked out loud. That's… not good. Could it be… that girl that I saw before? And if I remember correctly, she was there because she was looking for someone that day…

"Uni, I think we might've found a lead as to who might be involved in this." Looking away from her phone, she stared at me in confusion before her eyes widened.

"You think this other Neptune might have something to do with mess?" I nodded my head.

"I've seen her before, I can tell you that. When we bumped into one another, she said that she was looking for somebody. I can't tell you if the person that she was looking for is involved in this, but we're going to have to try." It's possible that she couldn't be linked with what's going on since I'd only met here before the festival, but if she's here, then we have somebody to look for.

"Alright! I'll call Noire and tell her that we're okay!" Dialing on her phone, she waited for Noire to pick up. Great, we have K-Sha, a fake Noire, another Neptune, and the smell of the sewer on my body!

Can anything get worse than this?!

"Naofumi, I kind of… told Noire that we'll wait in the sewer for her."

...I spoke too soon.


End file.
